** Border Angels Weekly Newsletter
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** Border Angels Update
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** Familias Reunidas
Bond Program
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WE POSTED OUR 48TH BOND!

Our team is grateful to all of YOU for helping us achieve this major goal. Your donations have made it possible to post bond for a woman whose bond was previously denied, resulting in her being detained for over a year.

Let's keep going and showing up for our beloved migrant community.

GRACIAS🦋

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Last Friday we posted our 48th Familias Reunidas bond. Here is the story of Mercedes.

She is a resilient trans woman and asylum seeker from Honduras who has overcome so many obstacles and is finally free from the horrible Otay Mesa Detention Center after being held there for over 1 year.

We are in awe of her incredible strength, as she was also in detention in Tapachula, Mexico for six months before arriving to the US border. ICE previously denied her bond, which was worrisome since the LGBTQ+ community is especially vulnerable while in prison.

A migrant's journey does not end once they are released from detention. Mercedes had to undergo questioning by both TSA and ICE before being allowed to board her flight. We cannot imagine the struggle and pain she has endured due to the shameful and racist policies in place, but we are thankful to have the opportunity to support her in her journey starting a new life.

Mercedes, you are an inspiration!

These stories serve as a reminder of all the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and community members waiting in such conditions in detention, simply for seeking a place or a part in this country. Mercedes represents so many others being subject to these inhumane policies and we must not forget the urgency of getting everyone out of immigration prisons.

This pandemic continues to be unforgiving, and we will not allow any more lives to be lost.Thank you for your support! Help us make ensure that everyone is #FreeAndAlive ([link removed][UNIQID])

GoFundMe Immigration Bond ([link removed][UNIQID])
Water Drop Program

The desert in the summer is unforgiving. Traveling for hours in temperatures that are up to 125 degrees while carrying supplies in your backpack. It is tough work, but it grounds us and helps to remind us of the arduous journey of many migrants.

It cannot be underestimated what people must endure when they are fleeing imminent danger where they come from, or to get back to the family in the United States that they were forced away from. One thing is sure, it is VERY difficult to carry enough supplies to survive crossing through the desert. Especially during the summer. Especially when the government has funneled people further through even more dangerous corridors, to bypass multiple strategically placed checkpoints.

No matter the weather, nor how extreme the temperatures get, we have not, and will never leave the desert. As long as people are crossing through, we’ll be there. While the temperatures are still extreme, we are only taking experienced Water Drop volunteers for the time being. Thank you all for your patience. As soon as we can safely take new volunteers we will. For the meanwhile, sharing posts and making donations allow us to continue our work, and be efficient as possible.

For any questions about Water Drops or our Water Drops during Covid, reach out to Water Drop Program Co-Director James Cordero, [email protected]. Thank you for your continued support!

Shelter aid update!

SHELTER AID UPDATE:

Remember that video we shared last week of our friends at Volviendo A La Patria shelter? Well they have finished cutting and welding their bunk beds!

It may not seem like the most exciting news, but to us it means the world to provide a comfort so many of us often take for granted. The previous mattresses that were being used in this shelter developed a bed bug problem, so we are relieved to have been able to give our migrant friends and families a place to rest their heads.

We are as always, incredibly grateful to all of you for your donations and continued support!

All of our Border Angels team and all of our shelter friends thank you!
Virtual Presentations

Thank you so much to Julie Dugan and Dr. Kristen Emory for inviting us to be part of their HHS 350 Course: International Applied Health & Human Services. It was a pleasure presenting our work and opportunities and are excited to continue our collaboration with San Diego State University.

We love to work with educational programs and institutions as a huge chunk of our work is dependent upon advocacy and education! We are grateful for this platform and will continue to use our voices to speak out against injustice and promote love and kindness above all.

Would you like Border Angels to present for your class/event/organization?
Email us at [email protected] to get started!


** Call to action!
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CALL TO ACTION:

At the beginning of this year, we rallied on behalf of Rocio Rebollar Gomez, mother of a U.S. Army officer, property and business owner, to stop her deportation after having lived in the U.S. for over 30 years. Having been deported before, she was not eligible for asylum despite cartel violence in her family in her home country. She had applied for a special permit and extension to stay in the U.S., and when she went to check in with ICE, she was deported.

We were heartbroken as she was sent to Tijuana, and how this country’s policies continue to rip families apart, despite Rebollar being a “model citizen.”

Today we are asking for your help once more to sign the petition to reunite this beautiful family!

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Benefit for Border Angels

Mark your calendars for Friday, August 28th and tune in @ 7:30 PM for a LiveStream benefit for Border Angels. And to watch the debut of the amazing Alicia Blue’s music video Incognito.

We are so grateful to these amazing artists for hosting this fundraiser, and using their beautiful voices and artistry to portray their stories. We can’t wait to see you al perform!🎵🖤


** Green Cards for Kids
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With our new Green Cards for Kids program, we are so lucky to be able to work with immigration attorney Fabiola Navarro who will be representing these children.

It is crucial that we help these children as they have already suffered enough abuse, neglect and/or abandonment.

With your continued support, we can help pay for the legal representation these children deserve in this critical time of their lives.

Please consider donating! No amount is too small!
DONATE TO BORDER ANGELS ([link removed][UNIQID])
WE NEED YOUR HELP:
Our friends at Refugee Health Alliance are one of the only organizations providing medical care for migrants and asylum seekers in Tijuana.

Health services for asylum-seeking refugees have nearly come to a stop as a result of the Covid-19 travel restrictions. Local Tijuana clinics offering medical services to refugees have closed.

U.S. based clinicians and doctors are no longer able to travel to Tijuana to meet with those who are in dire need of medical and mental health support. While migrants have access to hospitals in Mexico, it is financially difficult and risky to do so. Many migrants are persecuted by gangs who target them outside of the shelters.

How can you help?
You can donate tablets that will allow migrant shelters to directly connect with medical and mental health providers via videoconferencing. YOU can help the 850+ refugees in need in Tijuana.

Mail in your donation today to:
1680 Broadway, Ste. A
Chula Vista, CA 91911
You can donate to Border Angels when you shop on Amazon.

Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible items to Border Angels!

**
Tienes la oportunidad de donar a Border Angels cuando compras en Amazon.

Amazon nos donará el 0.5% del precio de compra de artículos elegibles!
Despite the growing challenges of this pandemic, Border Angels remains determined to protect and support the community we have pledged to serve. Even though we are currently unable to accept physical donations, we are always accepting monetary donations to support:

1. Our Shelter Aid Program❤️: Especially now that we are unable to receive these items, we need your help to provide funds for groceries, hygiene products, utility bills, rent, clothes, etc.!

2. Familias Reunidas Bond Program👨‍👩‍👧: Given the severity of this outbreak, we NEED to get as many people out of the Otay Mesa Detention Center as we can. With your help we can post bond for more individuals! (Link in highlights under Bond Program)

3. Water Drop Program
💧
: Even after having to postpone public water drops, our team is still constantly in the desert scouting and dropping the supplies necessary for survival. Their work never stops because the need never stops.

Thank you for your continued support.🖤🦋
DONATE TO BORDER ANGELS ([link removed][UNIQID])

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Stay Informed!

A 70-Year-Old Costa Rican Immigrant Who Died In ICE Custody Had Tested Positive For COVID-19

By Hamed Aleaziz

"A 70-year-old Costa Rican man died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at a Georgia hospital on Monday after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, making him the third detainee to die in a week.

The man had been detained at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, the same site where another detainee, Santiago Baten-Oxlaj, 34, had been in ICE custody before he died in May ** after also testing positive ([link removed][UNIQID])
for the coronavirus.

ICE officials confirmed that a 70-year-old Costa Rican national had died in government custody at a hospital on Monday, but did not release any other details. The man is the 18th detainee to die in ICE custody during the 2020 fiscal year, which ends on Sep. 30."

** [link removed][UNIQID] ([link removed][UNIQID])

17th immigrant dies in ICE custody, twice as many as last fiscal year

Seventeen immigrants have died in ICE custody this fiscal year, more than twice as many as the eight that died last year.

By Daniella Silva

"More than twice as many immigrants have died in the custody of Immigration and Customs and Enforcement this fiscal year than last after two detainees died this week. That brought this year's total to 17, compared with eight deaths last year.

A 72-year-old Canadian man who had tested positive for the coronavirus died in ICE custody on Wednesday night at a Virginia hospital, the agency said Friday in a statement."

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Protesters block ICE from detaining two Mexican immigrants for 12 hours

By Justin Wise

"Federal agents on Wednesday night reportedly deployed tear gas and less-lethal munitions at a crowd of protesters in Bend, Ore., who had surrounded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicles after two Mexican immigrants were detained.

Approximately 300 people in the central Oregon city gathered around two buses around 1 p.m. on Wednesday and remained there until nightfall to protest immigration officials' actions, ** according to The Bend Bulletin ([link removed][UNIQID])
. Photos and videos posted on social media showed a crowd of people standing in front of the vehicles as Border Patrol agents stood off to the side."

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How ICE Data Undercounts COVID-19 Victims

By Dan Glaun

"COVID-19 was the primary cause of Acosta’s death, according to his death certificate. But if you look at ** ICE’s coronavirus statistics, ([link removed][UNIQID])
you’d never know it happened.

According to ICE, only four detainees have died of COVID-19 in its facilities out of 4,444 detected cases. But the agency only tracks deaths that take place within its custody — not those of people who contract the virus while in detention, but then die of the illness once they are released or deported."

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Private prison industry backs Trump, prepares if Biden wins

By Nomaan Merchant

"HOUSTON — Executives at the nation’s two largest private prison companies have been donating large sums to President Donald Trump and Republican candidates with an eye toward the November elections that one of the corporations believes will lead to a rebound in its stock price.

The fortunes of private prison companies have become increasingly intertwined with the nation’s politics in an era when the Trump administration has been detaining tens of thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers at their facilities. Together, CoreCivic and GEO Group made about $1.3 billion last year in contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Each company relies on ICE for around 30% of its revenue."

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Local
San Diego Resources:
DACA, COVID-19

The Supreme Court of the United States did not issue a decision on DACA this week, adding more stress and uncertainty to our communities.

Check out these great mindfulness resources from United We Dream.
We're all in this together!

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Renewing your DACA is even more important now than ever before!

Consult with an attorney or nonprofit that is offering legal services to see if you are eligible to renew now!

National Immigration Legal Services Directory

Use the options below to search for immigration legal services providers by state, county, or detention facility.

Only nonprofit organizations that provide free or low-cost immigration legal services are included in this directory.

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Covid-19 Resources for Undocumented People /
Covid-19 Recursos para Personas Indocumentadas

** [link removed][UNIQID] ([link removed][UNIQID])

COVID-19: Assistance
Available to Undocumented Individuals

Financial Relief, Health Access and Guidance, Legal Rights, Free and Low Cost Services.

COVID-19: Assistencia
para Individuos Indocumentados

Ayuda Financiera, Acceso y Información para Cuidado de Salud, Derechos Legales, Servicios Gratuitos y De Bajo Costo.

** [link removed][UNIQID] ([link removed][UNIQID])

San Diego Food Bank – Food Programs Operating During the COVID-19 Crisis

** [link removed][UNIQID] ([link removed][UNIQID])

Domestic Violence Support and Resources:

** [link removed][UNIQID] ([link removed][UNIQID])


Corona Relief San Diego

SERVICE TO HELP THOSE IN NEED GET GROCERIES & MEDICINE DELIVERED.

** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Or call (619)-800-1892

Resources:
COVID-19 & DACA

UNITED STATES

Org: United We Dream
Financial support, DACA resources, mental health and well being.
** [link removed][UNIQID] ([link removed][UNIQID])

Small business loans
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Student Relief fund
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National Resources
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CALIFORNIA

Sacramento County
Org: NorCal Resist
Helps pay for groceries, rent assistance, street vendor emergency fund.
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Oakland
Org: OUR Fund
Helps with Financial support, application closed on May 4th.
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NEW YORK

New York City
Org: NYWF
Funds for Women, girls, and TGNCNB
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Merchandise

** UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE,

PURCHASES & SHIPPING OF ALL

MERCHANDISE IS ON HOLD!**
www.borderangels.org
2258 Island Ave, San Diego Ca 92102

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