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Human Rights Groups to U.S. & Mexican Border Region Governments:
Ensure the Health and Safety of Migrants, Refugees and Local Communities During the Global Health Crisis
The spread of Covid-19 virus in detention centers, migrant camps, shelters and maquiladoras along the U.S.-Mexico border has sparked deep concerns among community groups, human rights advocates, health experts and more over the past weeks. The Trump Administration's continued closure of the border -- and most recently, an executive order to suspend certain immigration into the U.S. -- can only escalate the worsening conditions for migrants, asylum seekers and local border communities already reeling from restrictive immigration and asylum policies and sparse resources for health, safety and economic survival.
 Over 100 human rights groups recently addressed concerns to local and regional governments on both sides of the border. The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights worked with partners and allies to put a spotlight on the critical roles of local governments to help alleviate these frontline pressures. In a letter to border region officials, groups expressed "deep concern over the conditions in detention centers" and called for the release of those in detention, including taking immediate measures to "safely and humanely decongest camp-like settings where physical distancing is an impossibility".
The letter made recommendations specified human rights guidelines "to remove obstacles that discriminate against migrants, refugees and their families residing in our cities and communities". Local officials were urged to guarantee access to "health care, emergency services, and shelter without discrimination, and work with federal officials to suspend travel restrictions at checkpoints that impede access to hospitals and critical services." While most communities around the country experience travel limitations, the border area is still beset by checkpoints that intimidate and further hinder access to medical care.
The letter notes that "any public health initiative that excludes migrant communities puts the entire border region at risk...In this emergency, cities and local governments on the frontlines bear critical responsibility for protecting the human rights of migrants, regardless of migration status, as well as asylum seekers and others who have been displaced".
Organizational endorsements welcome: While the letter is now circulating in the border region, organizational endorsements are still welcome.
You can read the letter in English here and sign on here.
Puede revisar la carta aquí y agregar el apoyo de su organización llenando este formulario.
Thank you for your support in this extraordinary time
 The support and generosity of so many is evident in the outpouring of contributions from a wide cross-section of people and institutions, supporting essential workers, the unemployed and underemployed, and undocumented workers and their families. Grassroots community organizations and advocacy groups, like NNIRR and many others, are also seeking support during this time -- a period of extraordinary upheaval and challenges.
NNIRR needs your support now more than ever to help us build capacity on the front-lines, uplift migrant voices and roll back the dehumanizing and exclusionary policies against migrants and refugees. Please consider a single donation or recurring contribution -- thank you!!
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Visit NNIRR's website for more information on the Covid-19 crisis:
Coronavirus and Immigrant Rights: Resources and Advocacy
Immigrant Community and Worker Relief Funds
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