Spent this morning visiting a shelter for Ukrainian refugees in Tijuana.
Spent the afternoon at a shelter @ImmDef visits regularly to provide legal services to mostly Haitian & Central American families.
The differences between the two are stark and soul-shattering. 🧵
Spent the afternoon at a shelter @ImmDef visits regularly to provide legal services to mostly Haitian & Central American families.
The differences between the two are stark and soul-shattering. 🧵
While the Ukrainian refugees at the Tijuana shelter are in extremely challenging circumstances, the shelter itself is secure, clean & well organized. There is safe transport to the border, plenty of food & clothing.
And most importantly: OPTIONS for those sheltered there.
And most importantly: OPTIONS for those sheltered there.
Meanwhile, at shelter where we provide legal services to brown & Black migrants trapped in MX for months/yrs, conditions are incredibly challenging. Even more disturbing the men, women & children sheltered there have essentially no options to seek protection. #EndMPP #EndTitle42
Providing legal advice to Ukrainians in Tijuana is interesting because they are being processed as exceptions to T42. 100s of them everyday. Refugees at the shelter seemed relaxed, knowing they will only be there a few hours. And when ready, there is safe transport to the border.
At the shelter housing mostly Central Americans & Haitians things are very different. We repeat the same thing we have for yrs now: there are virtually no safe options at the moment for your families. Today I repeated that to more than one crying mom holding their child’s hand.
The main reason I went to the Ukrainian shelter today was to provide tech assistance to volunteers related to unaccompanied children. Yet again, the processing of these kids is happening much differently than we see normally. In many cases, family units are being kept together.
Yet at the other shelter things remain the same.We had to explain to an aunt traveling with her two orphaned nieces, including a 2 yr old w/ Down Syndrome & a heart condition, that separation at the border is the most likely outcome. She had tears in her eyes as we explained.
I point out these differences not to say that everyone should be treated equally inhumanely. In fact, the treatment of Ukrainians is proof we can welcome refugees w/ dignity, as we should.
But whether we have political will to do so should not depend on the color of their skin
But whether we have political will to do so should not depend on the color of their skin
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