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On the Right to Seek Asylum

Both International and U.S. laws protect the right to leave your country of origin and to seek asylum at a port of entry in another country. However, since 2016, the U.S. government has implemented policies that violate this right by turning back some asylum seekers reaching our southern border without screening to determine whether they qualify for asylum. In 2020, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency introduced a new system where only asylum seekers with an appointment taken through the CBP One mobile application can present themselves at one of the 8 points of entries at the border with Mexico.

What could be an innovative solution to avoid chaotic scenes at the border is instead putting hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in harm's way, exposing them to all sorts of dangers as they wait for months in dire conditions, hoping to get an appointment. The CBP One app comes with a myriad of problems: it crashes frequently with error messages, is only available in three languages, the facial recognition system often fails to recognize darker skin tones, and the waiting time to get an appointment could last more than 7 months. This puts asylum seekers at great risk, vulnerable to cartels and abusive authorities who detain them as they wait for their appointment time to make their case in front of U.S. officials. Until recently, non-Mexican citizens could only use the app north of the 19th parallel, around the central zone of Mexico, which created an overwhelming agglomeration of migrants in the northern half of the country.

Our partners with the Franciscan Network on Migration (FNM) are concerned by the violence in the center of the country this has created, particularly in the state of Guanajuato where organized crime preys on stranded migrants. In response, FNM-Mexico, with Quixote Center's support, is planning on inaugurating a new shelter in Queretaro to serve the migrants in the central zone of the country. This shelter will provide them with essential services and help them avoid getting caught in the net of the cartels in an area where forced disappearances are at alarming levels. FNM-Mexico is organizing a workshop in October to mobilize the Franciscan community in Queretaro on this issue in preparation for the shelter's opening.

Recently, the Mexican government asked that the CBP One app coverage be expanded south of the 19th parallel to Chiapas and Tabasco, the states bordering Guatemala. As a result, migrants can now use CBP One to apply for an appointment from Chiapas and Tabasco. This may seem like a positive move for migrants; however there are grave concerns that criminal organizations will take advantage of the confusion around this new process and trick migrants into paying exorbitant legal fees to get an appointment quickly. The reality is that appointments are assigned at random with 1,450 scheduled every day. While the migrants wait, Mexican authorities keep many of them in detention centers until they can get a pass from the Mexican National Institute on Migration (INM). There is much uncertainty surrounding how this expansion will unfold, but the current cartel-fueled violence in Chiapas has pushed many Mexicans to seek refuge in Guatemala. One can only imagine the fate of non-Mexican migrants stuck in that state.

This is why the Quixote Center and FNM-Mexico are organizing a solidarity trip to southern Mexico from November 11-16 to see firsthand what impact this new policy is having on people migrating north. With so much confusion, disinformation and politicization around immigration, we seek the truth directly in the affected territories. We invite human rights and migrant justice advocates to join us on this journey where we will visit various shelters and meet with migrants in Tabasco, Chiapas and Guatemala to better understand the situation on the ground.

 

Join our Solidarity Travel to Southern Mexico

From November 11th to 16th, 2024, join the Quixote Center and the Franciscan Network on Migration on our biannual Solidarity Travel as we examine first-hand the impact of U.S. policy on Mexico's southern border, and to meet with immigration rights advocates providing shelter and other services to migrants. Click on the Learn More button below for more information on how you can participate.

Learn more Click Here ([link removed])
To apply Click Here ([link removed])

Read reflections from previous trip participants
People Walk to America ([link removed])
Mexico is a Cemetery for Migrants ([link removed])
An Immigration Advocate on the Meaning of Solidarity ([link removed])
An Advocate's Reflection on the Quixote Center's Solidarity Trip ([link removed])
A Teacher's Reflections on the Quixote Center's Solidarity Trip ([link removed])

More information here ([link removed])

 

Stop Illegal Arms to Haiti
Advocacy Days

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Artist Corner

Roland Blain

From Port-au-Prince, Blain was a member of the Foyer des Arts Plastiques, a group of modern Haitian artists. Blain was a professional trumpet player and formed his own orchestra. His paintings feature nature scenes, especially animals and jungle scenes. Today his works are highly sought after and valuable. In his 70s, Blain began to lose his eyesight. Roland Blain passed away in 2005 in Brooklyn, NY.

To view more images and learn more, please visit the Haitian Art Society ([link removed]).

 

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