Border Angels Weekly Newsletter
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Thanksgiving for many of us, is a holiday we consider for giving thanks for what we have and who we have around us. However, this holiday is one born from trauma of native peoples, and perpetuates the misrepresentation of how this holiday and tradition came about. Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide and continued suffering of the Native American peoples.
Many individuals instead have used this day as “National Day of Mourning,” and honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples who survive today. It is especially hurtful to participate in a holiday that has caused so much pain, without learning its history and ramifications. Tomorrow while you celebrate Thanksgiving surrounded by family and friends, you can learn and honor our indigenous communities.
We at Border Angels believe in education, advocacy, and above all promoting a culture of love. We believe in an active love and in the spirit of unity, we invite you to de-colonize your thanksgiving and also use this day to:
source: CulturalSurvival.org
Click on our Linktree to check out the links!
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Thank you to all of our supporters!
We are all so grateful for all your donations and your constant contributions to the cause!
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Giving Tuesday is almost here!
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Giving is not only about making a donation, its about making a DIFFERENCE and together we can.
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This year, Giving Tuesday will fall on
December 1st!
Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. Despite the hardships this year has brought, it has also shown us the importance of community solidarity and support.
Your support will allow us to continue reunifying families. So far we have helped over 60 migrants with our Familia Reunidas Program.
Your support will allow us to continue helping children receive the legal protection, love and care they deserve. Our Green Cards for Kids provides migrant children, many who were abandoned, with an attorney who is an expert at advocating for kids.
Your support will allow us to maintain a presence in the desert and mountains through our Water Drops. This year, even during COVID, our team went (almost) every weekend to leave water, clothes and food for migrants, saving countless lives.
Your support will allow us to help shelter directors in Tijuana feed and house migrants. This year alone we have provided many shelters with new appliances; such as washer, dryers, stoves, and refrigerators. We have funded a shelter COVID-19 expansion to ensure the safety of others when isolating and practicing social distancing. We also helped provide hundreds of face masks to maintain a safe and healthy community.
Your support also allows us to provide Day Laborers with personal hygiene products, face masks, hand sanitizers, fresh produce, snacks and neon t-shirts that help in the line of work they seek.
The results of the presidential election has reignited our hope, but we know that we collectively have A LOT of work ahead of us – and we need your help!
Mark your calendars.  
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Did you know...
This Giving Tuesday you can Double your Donation! If your employer has a matching program in place, it only takes about 3 minutes to set it all up.
Make your donation go even further this December and use the link below to see if your workplace participates in the program:
https://doublethedonation.com/tips/giving-tuesday/
Donations go directly towards helping migrant families in Tijuana, freeing more individuals from detention, getting aid to more people crossing through the desert, helping vulnerable migrant children with legal representation, and so much more!
GRACIAS!
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Get acquainted with our work if you haven't already!
Each one of our programs is committed to the welfare and well-being of the community we serve. Our team has gone above and beyond to ensure that we can continue proving life-saving support while in a global pandemic.
We cannot thank you enough for helping make this possible!
Without your generous donations, we wouldn't be able to continue helping save migrant lives.
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Last weekend, our amazing team headed out once again to support our Day Laborers with care packages that included face masks, snacks, fruit, water and Know Your Rights “Red Cards.” All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The ILRC’s Red Cards help people assert their rights and defend themselves in many situations, such as when they're stopped by ICE or Border Patrol agents.
Part of the reason we have Day Laborer Outreach is to make sure they also have the tools and resources to protect themselves as much as possible, like these red cards and free legal clinics. It has always been important to us that ensure the safety of laborers as workers, as people, and as members of our community. We are thankful to our team who lead by example and always treat day laborers with dignity and respect.
Gracias once more to Osvaldo, his team, and all of you for your continued support!
Want to donate to our Day Laborer Outreach program?
Email us at [email protected]
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Although this year has marked a lot of challenges and losses, it has also brought great opportunities like our newest program: Green Cards for Kids.
This Giving Tuesday, when you donate to Border Angels you are donating to provide legal representation to migrant children seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). SIJS is a pathway to a green card (also known as a legal permanent residence) for children that have been abused, abandoned or neglected by one or both of their parents. These children are currently in custody of Riverside County. We have partnered with immigration attorney Fabiola Navarro who will provide legal representation to ensure that these children receive the legal protections they deserve.
"Every child, especially those that have been neglected or abused, deserves the right to guaranteed protection. They deserve to live in a safe environment where they can thrive and follow their dreams. Border Angels is thankful for the partnership with attorney Fabiola Navarro which has given us the ability to provide these children with the assistance they need. We hope that Green Cards for Kids will help migrant children in Riverside County gain legal protection as well as hope for a better future." - Dulce Garcia
Click below to donate!
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We were able to cover a lot of ground this past weekend with our three groups. Long distances, rough terrain and government drone surveillance could not stop our efforts as temperatures dip to close to freezing right now most nights.
The supplies we are leaving out now are water gallons, pop-top canned food, socks, beanies, gloves, flannel shirts/thermal base layers. Donations of these items are greatly appreciated, along with sharing our social media posts.
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who has continued to show up on a regular basis. Thank you everyone for reaching out about volunteering, your support and understanding during the pandemic. As soon as it’s safe for us to start taking larger groups, we will. Please stay tuned to our social media accounts!
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!
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We are still assisting over 15 shelters in Tijuana. Last week we had the opportunity to talk to our shelters directors and determine their needs more in depth. They are so grateful for your contributions, especially since it's given shelters the ability to stay open during these trying times.
Your contributions truly save lives and bring joy to so many. In addition to the 20 appliances we have bought, we have assisted a total of over 900 individuals in Tijuana migrant shelters.
From the families, shelter directors, and the newborn babies...GRACIAS!
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Familias Reunidas
Bond Program
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We were fortunate enough to free two more individuals from detention through our Familias Reunidas Program this week. Edem, a 32-year-old Togolese asylum seeker, and Hania, a 31-year-old Ghanaian asylum seeker were detained in the Imperial Regional Detention Facility for 3 and 2 months, respectively.
It is around this time of year that we are constantly reminded of the importance of community, love, and unity. This holiday season, we reflect and are thankful for all of the privileges and comforts we have, and remember all of the families affected and separated by unjust and racist policies.
We thank you for your continued support and for helping two people spend their holidays with their community, not in detention.
We need your help to get more migrants like Edem and Hania out of immigration prisons. The support and donations we have received in the last few months have helped over 60 migrants.
But, we our funds are running low and we need your support to continue helping mothers, fathers, and loved ones who are still detained. All donations make a difference no matter the amount, and every dollar is spent towards getting someone out of detention!
The work does not stop here and we continue to fight and #freethemall
Click the link below to donate!
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Here's another way to donate!
With the Holidays coming up, your loved ones will appreciate some BA merch to rock.
Shop for a cause, shop on our website in time for the Holidays!
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We are excited to announce our Limited Edition Black Lives Matter T-shirt! This t-shirt is now available for purchase on our website in both Black and Cream colors and in sizes S-2XL. It has our Border Angels logo on the back too.
We also have our classic Border Angels logo hat, water bottles, pins, stickers, plus much more!
Border Angels stands in solidarity with the black community and our mission of humanitarian work embraces all those who are victimized and marginalized by the country’s racist institutions and policies. That is why we are donating a portion of the profits to organizations assisting the Black Lives Matter movement, but we need your help! Help us select an organization of your choosing!
**Design by Misael Ruiz**
Check out our shop down below
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Other ways to support
Border Angels
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Fall into the season of giving by donating your classic car to Border Angels. Your generous gift has the potential to bring hundreds and even thousands of dollars for saving lives in the desert, freeing loved ones from a detention center, and our migrant families in Tijuana.
The trusted vehicle donation program makes it easy with free pick-up and takes great care in finding the right buyer to get top dollar for it. Plus, they handle all the paperwork, too! Whether your vehicle sells for $500 or less, more than $500, or more than $5000, you will be provided with the proper paperwork and tax receipts for your donation.
Call 855-500-RIDE (855-500-7433) or donate online at https://careasy.org/home#NP-donation-form
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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!
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Indigenous Chefs On Traditional Cooking And Their Complicated Relationship With Thanksgiving
By Lena Abraham
"Though many Americans have come to know the Thanksgiving origin story they were taught as children to be riddled with inaccuracies, the celebrations haven’t slowed down. According to Wikipedia, Thanksgiving is the second most celebrated holiday in America, prompting more than 46 million turkeys to be roasted in a single day. But we’re not sure that turkey was even served at the “original” Thanksgiving feast, and historians have long known other classic dishes like mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pies were definitely not on the table.
So why not shed some of these baseless food traditions (I never liked green bean casserole anyway) and cook dishes with indigenous roots? And... what exactly are America's Indigenous foods? I turned to three Indigenous chefs to learn more about their relationship with this complicated holiday, and about their own cooking.
Chef and Indigenous food advocate Elena Terry, who owns Wild Bearies catering company in Wisconsin Dells, WI, remembers her childhood Thanksgiving with mixed emotions. She grew up participating in the ubiquitous Thanksgiving school play, complete with historically inaccurate costumes to match the historically inaccurate plot. She wondered why she was asked to participate in this “historical” retelling when, she says, “that’s not at all what I go home to, what I look like, or how we celebrate.”
https://www.delish.com/cooking/a34659173/indigenous-food-thanksgiving/
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New report details Trump effort to seize thousands of acres of private land for border wall
By Camilo Montoya-Galvez
"The Trump administration acquired at least 135 tracts of private land to build barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border and planned to seize a total of 5,275 acres to fulfill President Trump's campaign pledge, according to a government watchdog report obtained by CBS News.
A study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress' independent investigative arm, found that the Trump administration had secured the 135 sections of private land along the southern border as of July by reaching agreements with the owners or taking them to court and seizing their property. Officials planned to acquire another 991 tracts, most of them in south Texas, according to the report"
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-border-wall-plans-private-land-seizure/
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US deports migrant women who alleged abuse by Georgia doctor
By Nomaan Merchant
"HOUSTON (AP) — The Trump administration is trying to deport several women who allege they were mistreated by a Georgia gynecologist at an immigration detention center, according to their lawyers.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already deported six former patients who complained about Dr. Mahendra Amin, who has been accused of operating on migrant women without their consent or performing procedures that were medically unnecessary and potentially endangered their ability to have children. At least seven others at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, who had made allegations against the doctor have received word that they could soon be removed from the country, the lawyers said.
Hours after one detained woman spoke to federal investigators, she said ICE told her that it had lifted a hold on her deportation and she faced “imminent” removal.
Another woman was taken to a rural Georgia airport early Monday and told to sign deportation papers, only to be brought back to the facility as her lawyers sued in federal court.
They allege Amin performed operations that caused or worsened their pain without explaining what he was doing or giving them an alternative. Their stories fit a broader pattern of allegations made by detained women against Amin, some of them revealed in interviews with attorneys and medical records reviewed by The Associated Press. But there hasn’t been evidence to support an initial claim that he performed a large number of hysterectomies."
https://apnews.com/article/us-deports-migrant-women-georgia-doctor-b6a5fc1e2d4a822eb3767f9a858ea670
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