Program updates, Title 42 news & more!

PROGRAM UPDATES:
Volviendo A Casa
(New Program "Returning Home")
Joel Reyes was a 38-year-old loving husband and father of two children, ages 17 and 16. He was from the community of San Antonio de los Rios in Aguascalientes, Mexico. His goal was to cross the border and start working in Los Angeles to help support his family. He passed away under Border Patrol custody, after attempting to cross. Through our Volviendo a Casa program we were able to help transport his body back to his family in Aguas Calientes and finally be laid to rest.

While these services and aid are necessary, we also use this opportunity to denounce the forces and policies that force our migrant siblings to inevitably lose their lives in search of safety and opportunity. Through this program, we also wish to reiterate that migrant lives are not disposable.

Click Here ([link removed]) to donate to this program.
Familias Reunidas Bond Fund

This is the first time in Familias Reunidas history that we have helped free a 3 person family unit from detention! Raul, his wife Laura, and sister Ana spent one month inside the Imperial Regional Detention Center and are now all together in Los Angeles ready to start their new life in the US. Raul is 38, Laura is 41, and Ana is 48, and they are all asylum seekers from Colombia.

We continue to advocate and assist black and brown migrants who are disproportionately affected by the immigration system. We believe EVERYONE is deserving of freedom and opportunities, and with your help we can make that possible.

Click Here ([link removed]) to help more people like Raul, Ana and Laura.
Shelter Aid:

The directors in our Tijuana shelter network are working hard to meet the needs of the thousands of migrants still waiting for their asylum cases to be heard. Pastor Banda of Templo Embajadores de Jesus helps house up to 1000 migrants daily since the beginning of Title 42 expulsions. His shelter is currently undergoing renovations, and he is a constant advocate for all of the migrant families his shelter assists and maintains that our migrant siblings deserve the right to seek asylum.

Click Here ([link removed]) to donate to our Shelter Aid program.

Jardin de las Mariposas is one our newest supported shelters, they provide housing and assistance to members of the LGBTQ+ migrant community. We are proud and honored to help inclusive spaces like this one who have welcomed and helped so many! Our Shelter Aid program helps them pay for groceries, rent, utilities and more.

Click Here ([link removed]) to donate to our Shelter Aid program.
Green Cards for Kids
Our Green Cards for Kids program continues to find ways to halt deportation proceedings and achieve permanent residency for the children in our program. Thanks to your support Silvia has received an Employment Authorization Document so she may now pursue a job as she wanted to while we help her receive her green card. We also received one more SIJS(Special Immigrant Juvenile Status) approval from Julia!

“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
To donate to our Green Cards for Kids program: Click Here ([link removed])


** California Dignity for Families Fund Learning Series
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GCIR is proud to host the California Dignity for Families Fund Learning Series, a monthly roundtable discussion centering invisibilized communities and exploring often neglected topics within the migrant justice movement. This month, we bring you Disability Justice and Immigrant Rights.

All too often, issues of anti-Blackness and racism, homophobia and transphobia, and misogyny and ableism cause misalignment within our movement and hinder our collective efforts to transform systems of harm and oppression. Our intention with this six-month offering is to promote community-building through the powerful tools of political education and public dialogue.

Each webinar will take place on the 4th Thursday of the month at 10:00am PST | 11:00am MST | 12:00pm CST | 1:00pm EST. All but the last two sessions in this series are open to donors and funders. Nonprofit partners are welcome to join the entire series.

Click Here ([link removed]) to register.
BA IN THE NEWS

Deadly smuggling by sea attempts concern immigration advocates
A dead body washed ashore at Ocean Beach on Monday afternoon. San Diego Fire and Rescue cannot confirm but say it’s a possibility the body is that of someone who was on board a panga boat that capsized in the water south of the Ocean Beach Pier Sunday morning.

Three people were injured and one died, according to authorities. On Monday, 37- year-old Mexican national Eleobardo Garcia Lopez was identified as one of the victims who died. Authorities said the panga boat was carrying 10 suspected migrants.

“We are very concerned that we have seen an increase of maritime attempts to cross, which has resulted in an increase number of death,“ said Dulce Garcia, Border Angels. Border angels said they have also started a program that helps return the bodies of loved ones recovered while attempting to cross into the U.S. whether by sea or through the desert.

Read Full Article Here ([link removed])

The Biden administration is ending Title 42, a controversial pandemic border policy
The end of Title 42 will give people the opportunity to start a process that many of them have not been granted since the policy’s implementation two years ago, under then-President Donald Trump.

"This is definitely a moment to celebrate because Title 42 should never have been enforced in the first place. But I will say, migrants in the shelters that we support remain skeptical, as to whether people are going to actually be processed into the US to make their asylum claims," Dulce Garcia.

"So we hope that on May 23 everyone gets processed in a dignified and respectful way. And logistically speaking, that would mean someone would show up at the port of entry, ask for asylum, be allowed into the US, and have their day in court here in the US. And as they're waiting for these court hearings, stay with family, stay with loved ones in the US, as they move through the immigration process."

Read Full Article Here ([link removed])
The Movement to Defund and Abolish Immigration Jails is Winning Major Victories
President Joe Biden released his 2023 budget request to Congress, which calls for a reduction in the capacity of immigration jails by 9,000 beds or 26 percent of the current funded level (34,000 beds). This was the first time in the history of the modern immigrant incarceration system that a president reduced the request to this degree. For 40 years, the trajectory of immigration jails in the United States has been expansion: more beds, more money. President Biden’s budget request signals that we’ve finally moved the needle in the opposite direction, as a result of years of popular organizing and advocacy by people in detention and communities across the country.

It can feel hard to celebrate given the continued harsh realities of immigration enforcement, but we can’t lose sight of our ability to score significant wins like these. We share the sentiment that there is still much work to be done, but we are happy to receive some good news and show our efforts have not been in vain. Our Immigration Bond Fund has now freed 110 people since its inception, and we couldn't have done it without you.
Read more Here ([link removed])

'Treated like a prisoner, not a refugee of war'
There is sympathy for Ukrainian refugees but also protocols; and that's resulted in a teenager without her parents, being held at the U.S. Border Crossing at San Ysidro. Liza Krasulia, 17-years-old, is a refugee from Ukraine, traveling through Mexico to the U.S. border in hopes of asylum. Accompanied by a friend of her mother, Molly Surazhsky. They made it to the border crossing at San Ysidro, where Surazhsky, who is a United States citizen was permitted entry, but Liza was detained.

“She's terrified! She's a child!” said Surazhsky. “She's alone, separated from her family." Surazhsky says Liza called her Wednesday night from custody, very upset. "Treated like a prisoner, not a refugee of war,” she said. “That she's in a cell with no windows, with 25 other refugees."

CBS 8 spoke with Border Angels immigration attorney and Executive Director Dulce Garcia. She couldn't speak to this specific case but gave us insight. "I imagine they're going through a process of finding out who this person is, who presented at the Port of Entry with the child,” said Garcia. “To see if that person will be the guardian taking care of her here in the U. S. and if it's safe to re-unite them." She said that usually takes a few days, if not weeks.

Unfortunately, we are all too familiar with unaccompanied minors ending up in foster care or in custody of the county due to our Green Cards for Kids program. Many times children showing up to the border unaccompanied by a parent or guardian and presented by a friend or family member meet the same fate as this child.
Read Full Article Here ([link removed])
DON'T FORGET THE MERCH:

We have everything from t-shirts, to totes, to water bottles! All merchandise purchases go towards our programs and life-saving work.

Visit our online shop here ([link removed]) .
Looking for asylum-seeking resources? / Busca recursos sobre asilo?

Visit our page on the link below for the most up-to-date asylum information, including the latest Know Your Rights session presented by Borderline Crisis Center.

Visite nuestra pagina web en el enlace de abajo para la information mas reciente sobre el asilo incluyendo la sesion mas reciente de Conozca Sus Derechos presentada por Borderline Crisis Center.

Click Here ([link removed])
Border Angels Youtube Channel ([link removed][0]=AT0P45H2q2-G7hh2HJVCdSovBnNvl1GxplLNLpBF7cPAHW5QODu_mUxSRz65v6vumRlDjbWhdf3MsPC5WZy9Zj2tiqZTvoGcHvKqlMYz_MDxhCLNT5l14aWAW9ynRja12ju4HCeFh3Ezv7-Zkl8SnIO0GXFu96wh5q6pc94y_RsXpUnZTjEfi966GZRK4R7e2qnEVKc&mc_cid=c521312702&mc_eid=UNIQID)

A quick reminder that there are many ways to support us and get involved with Border Angels!

DM, FB message, or email us any of your questions at [email protected]

We appreciate you!!
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