Tweet

More from @AlOtroLado_Org

Al Otro Lado

@AlOtroLado_Org

25 Sep

With all that is going on, it is easy to forget that families still remain separated, and we have not stopped our work to reunite them. Over 400 parents were deported without their children and every day we are getting new referrals for cases.

1/4

These parents endured an agony no parent should ever have to. Imagine thinking you’ve finally reached safety w ur child only to have them forcefully taken from you. Their screams burning in ur ears as they cry for mama + papa. America kidnapped these children then lost them. 2/4

Covid had set an unfortunate pause on our reunification work, but we continued to remain in touch and support the parents how ever we could. Now that a bit more movement is allowed we are full steam ahead! We won’t stop until we can reunite as many families as possible.

3/4

Read 4 tweets

Al Otro Lado

@AlOtroLado_Org

11 Sep

At the height of the #BlackLivesMatter protests, we started to hear heartbreaking feedback from clients, recent asylees, horrified at what they were seeing happening in America and beginning to wonder if they had made a mistake coming to seek safety in this country.

1/

Many of them found themselves reliving or being reminded of the same persecution they had fled.

The curfews in effect during #ArabSpring. The military brutalizing peaceful protests. The rise of fascism under this administration. . . .

2/

Our client Chris who was granted asylum 9/19, had been studying to be a lawyer before he escaped the Cameroonian Civil War w his mother. He asked us, "I don't understand. I thought in America the police + military were meant to protect you. Why are they the ones harming us?"
3/

Read 4 tweets

Al Otro Lado

@AlOtroLado_Org

19 Aug

🧵 As we enter deeper into the storm of the election don’t get swept up into the notion that if Biden gets elected everything will finally be better + we can stop fighting. Did racism suddenly disappear when Obama was elected? Were Black people finally treated w dignity?
1/4

These problems didn't start with Trump. The hate was always there bubbling beneath the surface. Trump just turned up the heat to max. He made it ok to finally let that bigoted freak flag fly. In fact, he proudly encouraged it. Made made it the cornerstone of his presidency.
2/4

@Noraistired

Don’t get us wrong, this isn't to underscore how absolutely crucial it is for Trump to be defeated because FR, we immigration lawyers/advocates may not survive 4 more years of this “genocidal toddler,” as our Co-Founder + Legal Director @Noraistired lovingly refers to him.

3/4

Read 5 tweets

Al Otro Lado

@AlOtroLado_Org

14 Aug

Over the past couple weeks a common fear has been coming up in conversations with our clients detained at #OtayMesa, one of the hardest hit detention centers with Covid cases.

“If I die in here. What is going to happen to my children?”

1/3

Having almost accepted the real possibility of dying in detention, their new terror is having their children swept up in the foster care system or worse, deported.
To help them we've been reaching out to pro-bono attorneys to help them draw up wills that include family plans.
2/3

America’s “give us your tired, your poor . . .” immigration system stopped being one you simply had to get through a long time ago.

It is now a system you have to literally survive.

3/3

Read 4 tweets

Al Otro Lado

@AlOtroLado_Org

23 Jul

In a remarkable decision last yr, a judge ruled the gov was required to provide mental health services to families separated under zero tolerance. The ruling held the gov accountable for mental trauma as a result of its own policies. But getting those services has not been easy.

@brittny_mejia

@brittny_mejia profiles the incredible work of @SenecaFOA as they attempt to locate and offer these services in the middle of a pandemic and speaks to the ongoing trauma these parents and their children experience daily even after they've been reunited.
latimes.com/california/sto…

Our client Luisa who was separated from her 13yr old daughter on Christmas Day 2017 is profiled in this article. We know how hard it was for her even after we were able to reunite them. The trauma doesn’t magically end with reunification. The pain lives inside you forever.

Read 4 tweets

Al Otro Lado

@AlOtroLado_Org

22 Jul

@miles4migrants

In less than 24 hrs after being granted asylum, our client Israel was on a flight this AM to be w his family thanks to @miles4migrants, w masks donated by @mutualaidLA + new clothes with a backpack filled w essential toiletries thanks to your donations to our Humanitarian Fund.

And this isn’t a self-congratulaotry roll call, rather to show of just a *few of the many resources needed after folks get out. Winning asylum and getting out is incredible and the goal, but it’s what happens after that determines the real win.

Having post release support is just as important as the release itself because folks are leaving one ugly jungle (detention) and stepping right into another one (Trump’s America).

Read 6 tweets

Share this page!

Al Otro Lado

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

More from @AlOtroLado_Org

Al Otro Lado

Al Otro Lado

Al Otro Lado

Al Otro Lado

Al Otro Lado

Al Otro Lado

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Like this author's thread?