TODAY, we’ll be in Laredo, TX, testifying before the @CIDH.
We’re talking about how our clients in detention centers are *daily* denied access to legal counsel, how we've seen countless asylum-seekers denied protections for procedural reasons.
The legal situation in detention is dire. Asylum-seekers face a byzantine system that's set up to deny them protections & deport them back to danger.
Often, a lawyer is their only hope, but they're not guaranteed counsel.
In detention, ICE & private prisons block us often.
Asylum-seekers are treated like vermin. You already know the dangers of detention—cold rooms, illness, abusive guards, poor food, etc.
Folks are jailed for weeks w/no access to lawyers.
And under Remain in Mexico, people are forced to go even farther w/out legal counsel, shuffled across the border to Mexico or beyond to await hearings.
No lawyers can meet them there. It's essentially a permanent deportation order, & often a death sentence.
Our entire legal system for asylum-seekers right now is mean to deter them from coming.
If they make it to the border, we send them back w/out lawyers. If they make it across, we jail them w/out lawyers. If they make it out of detention, we don't guarantee any legal counsel.
It's a daily betrayal of our commitments under both the American & international law.
*Everyone* deserves due process. *Everyone* deserves a lawyer.
We're sending ppl to death b/c they're denied asylum on administrative grounds that a lawyer could easily fix.
It's grotesque.
We're going to tell the IAHCR all of this & more.
They have the authority to make site visits & recommend changes to US policy.
We need more international bodies focusing their attention on the human rights abuses happening at our southern border & throughout the country.
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Since 2014, RAICES has represented thousands of people, including children inside the Karnes Detention Center. It’s often touted as a “model” facility by the US government.
There is nothing “model” about it. It is a prison, rife with violence and systemic abuse. #immigration
The RAICES Family Detention Services team was able to obtain an unprecedented amount of information about the migration experiences of adult women detained at Karnes.
❌ At least 633 out of approximately 1,900 women detained reported experiencing mistreatment while in custody.
❌ 839 women reported that they were separated from family members.
❌ There has never been a full-time pediatrician at Karnes, nor is there obstetrics care available.
Our hearts are with the people of #Ukraine and everyone impacted by Russian aggression. War serves only to create death and destruction, and will lead to a humanitarian crisis and the mass displacement of millions of people.
This is not new: we have witnessed how devastating war and conflict can be in places like Haiti and Afghanistan. The US must be ready to respond immediately, and welcome all those who are forced to flee their homes.
Although @POTUS mentioned a vague reference to providing humanitarian aid to the people of Ukraine in his speech yesterday, nothing he said was concrete.
Last week was the Black Immigrant Advocacy Day of Action! We joined in celebrating the leadership of Black immigrants in the work to expose + eradicate racism in the immigration system. But fighting for Black Immigrants isn't just a one time event. Here's what we can STILL DO: 👇🏽
Support + follow Black immigrant-led immigrants rights organizations, including:
We are absolutely disgusted by the Biden Administration's decision to deport thousands of Haitians one month after the devastating earthquake and storm that resulted in 2,200 deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. 🧵👇🏾
Families who lost everything to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake are now living through flash floods and mudslides. The destruction is large-scale and unprecedented, worsening Haiti’s already unstable political and social infrastructure.
Haiti is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change – and we can expect climate disasters to continue to devastate the nation in the years to come.
The Senate parliamentarian just recommended that a path to citizenship for Dreamers, TPS holders, and Essential Workers should not be included in the budget reconciliation bill. We are disappointed to hear the news, but we know that this fight is far from over. 🧵👇🏾
We have spent decades fighting for a path to legalization for all undocumented immigrants in this country. We are not giving up now. Democrats in Congress can still keep their promise, without compromising on increased enforcement.
We expect them to use all the tools to get this done. They can do the following:
✅Dems can rework the legalization language and resubmit to the Parliamentarian;
✅Vice President Harris can overrule the parliamentarian;
We are extremely disappointed in the Biden Administration's decision to appeal the federal court ruling that would block #Title42. @POTUS has a moral obligation to stop using T42 to harm families and children seeking asylum.
It is immoral and inhumane.
Here's our statement:
We at RAICES have a front row seat to the horrors of Title 42. Our clients are stuck in Mexico. Families fleeing violence are turned away. U.S. and international Asylum law is flouted.