Ari Sawyer Profile picture
Jul 10, 2019 14 tweets 7 min read Read on X
A thorough and accurate opening statement by @RepRaskin at the hearing on “Kids in Cages: Inhumane Treatment at the Border.” #CloseTheCamps #DontLookAway #MigrantPersecutionProtocols oversight.house.gov/legislation/he…
Yazmin Juárez, the mother of the 18-month-old toddler who was killed after being detained in @ICEgov custody at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, is now testifying. She said she watched her "baby girl die, slowly and painfully." #DontLookAway
She said back in Guatemala, her daughter was happy and healthy, but they had to flee and came to the US to seek asylum. They were held in @CBP custody in a "hielera" or ice box, known for the cold temperatures, and made to sleep on the concrete floor.
When they got to @ICEgov, she said mother and daughter were detained with other mothers and children, many of whom were sick and going untreated. Within a week, Ms. Juárez' toddler got sick with a respiratory infection. #DontLookAway #CloseTheCamps
"I remember her little body felt so hot." Her daughter developed a bad fever, an ear infection, and she wouldn't eat and was very weak. She began vomiting constantly. The mother tried to get her medical attention, but was ignored.
In 10 days, the baby lost 8 percent of her body weight, Ms. Juárez said. She was given some Vicks Vaporub, which she said she later learned can be bad for children under the age of 2. Ms. Juárez received notice that she and her baby would be transferred out of @ICEgov custody.
She thought that would mean she could finally see a doctor. But at 5 a.m., they were taken to be processed out of detention. Actually, her medical records said she was medically cleared. #DontLookAway #CloseTheCamps
When the two got out, Mis. Juárez admitted the toddler to the hospital. She died on what was Mother's Day in their home country. The nurses gave her a piece of paper with the baby's hand prints in pink. Her name was Mariee Juárez and she had a very sweet smile. #DontLookAway
"I'm here today because I don't want anymore little angels will suffer...They don't know the terror mothers and children feel locked in these cages, hungry and cold." Ms. Juárez said that if she could change things and protect children, she would.
It takes real courage to get up in front of the committee and the world and share this terribly painful tragedy. Members of Congress, please do not let Ms. Juárez' testimony be in vain: #CloseTheCamps and pursue alternatives to detention that include doctors and social workers.
Here's the story of what happened to baby Mariee Juárez, first reported by @VICE in 2018: news.vice.com/en_us/article/…
It’s late, and I’m at home, and I can’t stop thinking about the testimony I heard today. I wonder if our lawmakers like @Jim_Jordan and @chiproytx are thinking about Mariee and her mom and the life they should’ve had. Because there are still kids like her in detention right now.
Republican congressmen/women at the hearing warned against making a political statement rather than instituting real change. I hope they hold themselves to that same standard. Respecting human rights shouldn’t be a partisan issue.

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More from @AriMSawyer

Jun 25
So proud to release this beautiful and devastating project in collaboration with the @colibricenter.

For 30 years, US border policies have killed and led to the disappearance of tens of thousands of mostly Indigenous, Brown, and Black people.

It's time for a new approach.
The US should respect the right to life, the right to self-determination, and the acknowledge the right to MOVE. It should publicly apologize to the families who have lost loved ones as the result of its deterrence policies and immediately invest in life-saving measures.
Asylum isn't the only valid reason to move. People may want to be with family, pursue education, find work or a higher quality of life, or seek adventure. They don't deserve to die for it. US politicians like Biden and Trump should stop using racist policies to win elections.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 9, 2023
Drug trafficking and migration are intricately connected, but not in the way US politicians make it sound. The US demand for drugs funds and empowers the criminal organizations that make life unsafe for people in the region, playing a huge role in driving migration. 1/
The US government's response to the opioid crisis using police and punishment and futile attempts to stop the supply by militarizing the border in turn plays a massive role in driving abuses at the border. The US has a drug problem. US citizens smuggle, buy and consume drugs.
The more people overdose, the more politicians call for border security, the more border security companies get richer, the more people die crossing, the more residents are abused and overpoliced. Meanwhile, the overdoses never stop. And around and around we go.
Read 5 tweets
Feb 8, 2023
Biden has failed to follow through on his promise to create a humane and rights-respecting border. Instead, he has continued to use and expanded Trump policies, leading to record numbers of dead at the border. Watch @POTUS give the State of the Union here: c-span.org/video/?525522-…
@POTUS I'll be live tweeting with an eye on immigration and policing. In an earlier hearing, politicians falsely linked migrants with drugs and violence. They continued to call for abusive border policies. Will Biden be any different?
"Power for the sake of power...gets us nowhere." I agree. Why then doesn't @POTUS show real leadership and take a principled stance on US immigration and border policy and follow through on promises to create humane policies?
Read 10 tweets
Feb 7, 2023
Watching today: House Committee Hearing "On The Front Lines of the Border Crisis: A Hearing with Chief Patrol Agents"
I'll leave the very excellent live coverage to @ReichlinMelnick. This thread is about the bigger picture. Why are we having this conversation in the first place? Who is really in crisis at the southern border? What drives smuggling, deaths and kidnappings?
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability have invited from Border Patrol RGV Sector Chief Gloria Chavez and Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin. They've been doing their best to answer questions, but they are not equipped to answer questions about WHY.
Read 23 tweets
Mar 1, 2021
The DR is building a border wall between itself and Haiti. Securitized borders there are an import from the US Border Patrol, part of an initiative to "fight terror." In truth, it is another effort to externalize migration, to force refugees to stay in their countries of abuse 1/
Context: Haiti is in the midst of a political uprising and pandemic. Despite both of these facts, the US has continued to deport and illegally expel (with no screening for fear of return) Haitian nationals, including children. It continued to do so during #BlackHistoryMonth. 2/
Some of the conditions that exist in Haiti today are related to the US' support for father and son dictators in Haiti. Also, DR dictator Rafael Trujillo, who first trained with the US military, ordered the Parsley Massacre where tens of thousands of Haitians were slaughtered. 3/
Read 6 tweets
Jan 25, 2021
A horrifying report from the Government Office of Accountability (@USGAO) on two secretive and abusive DHS programs at the US-Mexico border. Before the analysis, a reminder that neither @POTUS nor DHS secretary nominee @AliMayorkas have agreed to end them. gao.gov/assets/720/711…
Very troubling to see the stunning lack of context on the length and conditions of detention from @USGAO. @CBP held asylum seekers in unsanitary, punitive conditions well beyond the 72-hour limit. GAO also takes for granted certain false or misleading assertions by DHS.
Before I dig into those issues, a couple of highlights from the data. CBP placed a total of 5,290 people into either program (HARP for Mexicans, PACR for non-Mexicans), which hold asylum seekers effectively incommunicado while they are rushed through a “credible fear” interview.
Read 20 tweets

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