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Migrant lives are not disposable – Border Angels is committed to continue demanding that our siblings making the difficult journey from their home country to our border be treated with dignity and respect.
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Thank you so much to UC Berkeley and the Alternative Breaks program for hosting us on March 16th! We were able to partner with them through our virtual education program which enables students to engage in virtual summits to inform and discuss difficult topics, in this case border migration and the humanitarian crisis of asylum seekers in Tijuana. We are grateful to be able to help promote a culture of love, and to be reminded by such wonderful individuals to be allies and lead with kindness.
Would you like Border Angels to present for your class/event/organization? We offer a variety of presentations regarding all aspects of our work. Email us at [email protected] to get started!
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Vanessa Ceceña was able to speak about mental health and immigration. Many others were able to join as well!
Click here to check out the video!
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Both of our groups this day (2/27/21) tackled routes in a large mountain range that is known to be a used by migrants. It is designed by "funneling" of border fences to create dangerous paths for migration. We found that almost all of the supplies that we left 5 weeks prior had been used or taken by those passing through. We replenished these sites with cold weather supplies meant to last during the remaining cold season.
In order to find consumed supplies, our groups scale the sides of mountains, dig deep in bushes, and even crawl into caves. We are extremely grateful to our volunteers that participated in this longer trek.
For any questions regarding our Water Drop program, please email [email protected].
Until further notice, we are still not taking any new volunteers.
Thank you for your support! Click here, to donate!
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We have officially bonded out 75 people through our Familias Reunidas Immigration Bond Fund!
Today we celebrate this milestone along with the recipient Cristofer. He is an asylum seeker from Nicaragua who spent 4 months in immigration detention.
Our program has helped individuals from 18 different countries including Mexico, El Salvador, Cameroon and many other countries. Bonds are set in an arbitrary and inconsistent manner, and, at times, although an immigration judge has determined they qualify for a bond, they are nevertheless locked in detention until their families are able to raise the money.
This bond system disproportionately affects immigrants of color, especially Black migrants who often receive much higher bonds. The inability to post bond can lead to an enormous amount of trauma, as well as an unnecessary exposure to death and illness because of COVID-19. Many detention centers, like the one in San Diego and Imperial County, are ran by FOR-PROFIT and PRIVATE corporations.
Our goal is to reunite as many families as we can. With your support that we are able to reunite a mother with her child, a brother back with their sister, and a husband back with their spouse.
Will you help us reach our goal of freeing 100 people from detention by the end of 2021?
You can donate to our bond fund here!
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Our Day Laborer Outreach coordinator Osvaldo, and his team supported 80 day laborers this week, the highest number for some time. They once again were able to visit two locations and responsibly assemble and distribute care packages including snacks, water, facemarks, and Know Your Rights cards. All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. These Red Cards cards help people assert their rights and defend themselves in many situations, such as when ICE agents are called on them, which has reportedly happened to our day laborers in the past.
Thanks to their work on the field, we are able to better assess the needs of day laborers, but also able to listen to their stories and offer some much needed moral support. Just this past weekend we discovered that one of the day laborers is homeless, his health is declining, and still is waiting and willing to work. Osvaldo and his team always make sure treat this community with dignity, but spread awareness to their struggles, and always advocate for them.
Interested in donating? Click here, or email us at [email protected] to donate assembled care packages with: masks, neon tshirts and hand sanitizers. For more info or questions please feel free to email us!
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It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of a shelter director, Jose Antonio Altamirano. He was the pastor and director of the Camino de Salvación shelter and Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) in Tijuana.
He devoted his life to public service and was an integral part of our Shelter Aid Program. We hope to honor his life and legacy by continuing to support the migrant community he cared for so deeply. We mourn this loss and extend our thoughts and love to his family.
May he rest in peace.
Jose Antonio Altamirano, PRESENTE.
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El Puente Shelter in Tijuana continues to support the growing number of migrants arriving at El Chaparral port of entry. Last week they prepared 525 hot meals, and distributed blankets and ponchos primarily to pregnant women and minors. They also screened movies for the children at the encampment. Many of those running this shelter have experienced many similarities since they are migrants and asylum seekers themselves.
If we continue to ignore the the situation at our southern border and not help our migrant siblings, the tragedies, such as death, that come with crossing through the desert and water will continue to increase. As it stands, asylum processing at the ports of entry are limited to those who were already placed in the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP).
We must demand better treatment and policies for all of those seeking refuge.
Thank you for your continued support! It has allowed us to continue assisting not only shelters, but those who are staying at the encampment in Tijuana.
Click here to donate!
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Migrant Children to Arrive at San Diego Convention Center as Early as This Weekend
By Natalie Brunell
"It's really immeasurable the damage we're doing, especially when it comes to the children. We have right now hundreds of children that are in tents, sleeping in the streets because there is no humane way for them to properly present their claims to asylum," Garcia said.
Click here, to read full article.
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A Mexican mother tried to escape her abuser. She was one of 13 migrants to die on a California highway
By Erin Clark
“My family, my friends, we’ve been in those situations,” said Dulce Garcia, the executive director of the not-for-profit Border Angels. “‘Duck down. Make yourself small so the border patrol doesn’t see you’. In those little tiny cars, I remember those old Honda Hatchbacks, you can fit so many people stacked up. It’s so dangerous. For all of us that crossed that border without paperwork, it’s painful to think it could have been our parents, it could have been us, it could have been our siblings, our own family members.”
Click here, to read full article.
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House passes clear path to citizenship for millions nation's 'Dreamers'
A separate bill also passed that would provide a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrant farmworkers and their families.
By Richard Allyn
"To qualify for citizenship under this legislation, an immigrant must have been 18 years old or younger when they first entered the U.S., and can not be convicted of a violent crime.
"A big sigh of relief," said San Diegan Dulce Garcia, one of an estimated two and a half million "Dreamers" nationwide who could benefit from the legislation passed by the House by a vote of 228 to 197.
"This is definitely a historical moment," she added.
Garcia came to the U.S. In 1987 when she was only four and is now an immigration attorney as well as head of Border Angels, a local nonprofit that advocates for immigrants' rights.
"For years I've been worried about being placed in a detention center or being deported," she told News 8."
Click here, to read full article.
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