Thread: Human Rights Along the U.S. - Mexico Border

http://scoop.epluribusmedia.org/story/2 ... 6208/63469

Human Rights Along the U.S. - Mexico Border
by Man Eegee
Thu Aug 03, 2006 at 04:20:07 PM EST

[Editor's Note] I wrote this a couple of weeks ago but the information is still relevant. Lots of great work being done at the grassroots level.

I just got home from the Border Action Network's Fundraising/Campaign Update event. I took four pages of notes and will try to decipher the thoughts expressed with this post. Let me begin by saying that I'm glad to be plugged into a group of people that share my values and are willing to address the hard questions that affect our region/nation.

Tonight's event was held at the Southside Presbyterian Church in the heart of Tucson, it was an outdoor event with roughly 100 participants and featured a catered meal of chilaquillas, frijoles y arroz. There was also music provided by Francisco Robles and a comapañero whose name I missed. They played ranchera music and some activist songs that comprise the heart, the corazón, of events like this. There were translation services provided to the monolingual participants since the presentations were given in both Spanish and English.

sígame...

Commentary :: ::

The evening began with the meal followed by an address by Jennifer Allen, Executive Director of the Border Action Network of Southern Arizona. She explained that their work's foundation is to insist that the voices of people that are most affected by border policy have a voice in the discussion. We are the ones who live with the consequences of the actions of local, state and national policy, which is why the work is so important. Futhermore, they are organizing to increase the capacity of outreach and mobilization of the people. She cited three specific objectives: skills, space and support.

The keynote for the event was then introduced. Fernando Garcia, Director of the Border Network for Human Rights, addressed the group on the work being done in their region spanning the border regions of Texas and New Mexico. His outline followed three main topics:

the situation along la frontera
the situation nationally, specifically within the political realm
the role of BNHR and immigrants in the community
La Frontera

Sr. Garcia describes the situation as a dramatic crisis - a human rights crisis - that has seen thousands of immigrant deaths in the desert - almost 4000 in the past ten years alone. He made mention that these are our tios y primos, nuestra familia who are dying in search of a better life. There are also countless human rights violations occuring - beatings, illegal detentions, and racial harrasment due to a situation that has gotten out of hand. There is now a growing war along the border with the deployment of National Guard troops along the line in addition to the militarized agency already in place - Border Patrol. Things are getting worse, and Fernando asked the rhetorical question: What can we do to change the reality in our communities?
National Policy

Things have escalated recently, first with the passage of House Resolution 4437 [.pdf link] and continuing with the human rights marches across the country by the immigrant community and their supporters. The bill basically said that the current policies in place were acceptable but also took further steps to militarize the border by changing the rules that govern local police forces - allowing them to make arrests based on immigration status - something historically reserved for federal law enforcement agencies. HR4437 also calls for the construction of more walls along the border, triple-layered walls being the preferred example. Finally, it would criminalize undocumented immigrants, making it a felony to be here with an invalid immigration status. Going further, it criminalizes the actions of anyone deemed a direct supporter of illegal immigrants. Fernando quipped that if the resolution had been passed in an identical form in the Senate yesterday and signed by George Bush, that our gathering tonight would've been filled with felons.

The national debate has characterized undocumented immigrants as lazy, non-contributors to society, drug dealers, etc. - an unacceptable and demeaning labeling of a population that indeed contributes a lot to the United States. The solutions are to either deport everybody, which is unacceptable, or recognize their hard work and accept them into a society that they are an integral part.

Fernando does not believe that legislation will get passed in Congress anytime soon. The majority party is supportive of the anti-immigrant community and it is probably a good thing that they are refusing to move (barring an international incident).

Roles of immigrants and BNHR

There is a fundamental understanding that immigrants deserve a bigger role in the discussion currently raging in this country. They are providing a movement to give immigrants the ability to empower themselves and organize. The framework of the past saw most outreach to the immigrant community through legal channels, providing assistance in the legal process. Many times they were viewed as victims, pobrecitos. This was not a positive way to interact with a community that we care about because it didn't give them the ability to change their own reality. In order to do this we need to organize, educate and build the infrastructure for a movement.

The BNHR began training Human Rights Promoters (Promotores de Derechos Humanos) to begin the discussion that would define the reality they face and to build a movement with the immigrants at the heart of the operation. So far, the BNHR has trained over 200 Promotores, these have become the leaders of the work being done in their own communities.

The Promotores undergo training in these specific areas:



Universal Declaration of Human Rights
U.S. Bill of Rights
U.S. history
some legal procedures to assist in documenting human rights abuse along the border
They are leading the distribution efforts of information to other immigrants regarding their fundamental rights as human beings. As more Promotores are trained, they are forming Human Rights Community-Based Committees in their neighborhoods. People are gathering in homes to come together to address the issues specific to their area and solutions to fix them.

Fernando mentioned that this is different than the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s because it will be all-encompassing of Human Rights - health care, education, workers' rights, which move beyond the legalization/citizenship realm that often characterizes the work that BNHR and other groups engage. They are working to build a better society for everyone.

The primary goal is to provide a path to integration within a society that is not racist but based on human rights - to live in dignity with equality. They are building this movement from scratch, using methodologies they have created on their own. He closed with a call to the community for moral and financial support and thanked everyone for attending.

Closing

At that point, Jennifer Allen of the Border Action Network (BAN) returned to the mic and gave a short history of their work in Southern Arizona. BAN started in 1999 as an all-volunteer group and in 2001 hired its first staff members. They have focused their work in the Nogales and Douglas areas by knocking on doors and simply talking to people about their reality.

BAN members found that many people felt isolated, targetted and there was alot of fear. The conversations they began allowed the people to step out of their fear so that they could transform their communities through grassroots work. The focus began with local policies but have recently expanded to the national level as immigration issues returned to the debate in D.C.

The goal is to make the policies in our communities stronger and more responsive to the needs of the people. There are approximately 350 families active now in the Border Action Network and they are growing wildly in the current climate. The discussions engaged have been about fundamental values, education on the rights of the people and ways to defend them but also to brainstorm of new rights that would fit within a society based on Human Rights.

Following the model of the BNHR, the Border Action Network of Southern Arizona has trained the first class of Human Rights Promotores. Seven of them were introduced and given time to speak from their hearts on what they've learned and where they feel the work needs to continue. Their graduation will be held on Saturday, August 5th. After the completion of the program, they will be given three month workplans for their specific communities that will help to promote all rights - civil, constitutional and of course basic human rights.

The evening ended with a call for financial support (it was a fundraiser) and they were able to exceed their goal of $500 for the evening. I spoke to one of their organizers after the event and asked him how their summer fundraising campaign is going. They are almost at their goal of $75,000 but still have a ways to go. If you are able, please consider supporting the work of these human rights advocates. They are doing society a great service by empowering people who are in our midst. As a proud liberal, it was a jolt of energy to hear speakers and like-minded activists speak about fundamental needs in a global society. You can donate via their secure website at this link.

To close, I scribbled these words down on my notepad before the event began. There's not much of a rhythm but pretty much depict what's in my heart tonight.


The lines you draw to divide humanity
will never divide the human soul.
Dignidad, justicia y equalidad are what we seek.

Build your walls, send your troops
our people's spirits will not see defeat.

¡Sí, Se Puede!

U.S. Bill of Rights

Some one needs to tell them to turn a page... what Bill of Rights? We now have the Patriot Act... of course the Hispanic immigrant is privileged so maybe they do have OUR Bill of Rights.

This is from their web site

The 13 Points of Struggle
Early on in the organizing process members of the BNHR prioritized work on legalization of undocumented communities and abuse of authority, but these priorities were always placed in the larger context of human rights. BNHR members developed a list of 13 community priorities central to the permanent work of BNHR. These 13 fundamental priorities were developed through the direct involvement and participation of communities and they specify the core issues that affect the well-being and those that local communities defined as “basic human rights.”

Permanent Residency (legalization)
Civil and Constitutional Rights
Labor Rights
Dignified Housing
Access to Education
Healthy Communities
Nutrition
Public Service
Culture and Language
Civic Community Participation
Human Mobility
Dignity and Respect
Peace and Justice.
These 13 basic Human Rights are a reflection of the communities that make up the work and mission of the BNHR.

Declaration of Monterey
The National Assembly of Immigrants has agreed to recognize the Declaration of Monterrey as the political guide for the struggle of immigrant communities and groups. Furthermore, the Assembly determined that the Declaration should be broadened the following areas:
A) The Declaration of Monterrey will be framed within the struggle for the recognition of the universal Human Rights which emanate from the needs and struggles of the peoples of the world, in particular, the immigrant communities of the world. Immigrant Rights are Human Rights. Our struggle is for Justice, Freedom, Democracy. It is also for Dignified Work and Workers’ Rights, Housing, Health, Education, Food, Culture, Language, Human Mobility, etc. These are our human rights... «Full Article» or «Download in MS Word Format»

Border Community Alliance for Human Rights- Our Demands
Over time, the brutal aggression against border communities has increased dramatically and desperately. The deaths of migrants or more accurately, of our family members, has numbered in the hundreds every year. Sorrow has invaded our hearts and our communities. Running through our streets, houses and workplaces is the terror of being apprehended by law enforcement agencies. Yet our only crime has been to look for work that can provide for the well-being of our families. Civilian groups operating as if they are above the law and the US Constitution, not masking their xenophobia and racism are reinventing the horrendous tactics of the KKK and the Texas Rangers -all to fulfill their "patriotic mission"” of hunting migrant families and workers...

http://www.bnhr.org/english/priorities.php

Their contacts

Main Office
2101 A. Myrtle
El Paso, TX 79901
Phone #: (915) 577-0724
E-mail: info@bnhr.org

Director
Fernando Garcia
bordernet2001@yahoo.com

Administrator
Saul Soto
sauldesoto@netscape.net

BNHR Youth Coodinator
Elizabeth Camargo
camargoliz@yahoo.com

Southern New Mexico Regional Coordinator
Martina Morales
Phone #: (915) 253-7412
mmorales_bnhr@yahoo.com

East El Paso Regional Coordinator
Miguel Miranda
Phone #: (915) 256-3821
mmiranda_bnhr@yahoo.com

Expose on Border Vigilante Groups
http://www.borderaction.org/campaigns2.php?articleID=3
Clad in camouflage fatigues with home-made "badges", using high-tech equipment and operating out of secret "headquarters”, anti-immigrant vigilante groups in southern Arizona are taking the law into their own hands. Heavily armed, these groups are rounding up undocumented border crossers at gunpoint, and turning them in to the federal authorities. In some cases, immigrants have been injured and brutally killed.

Among the core vigilante groups operating in Southern Arizona are the Texas-based “Ranch Rescue”; Sierra Vista/Douglas businessman Roger Barnett, the “American Border Patrol”, lead by California-based radio talk show host and self-proclaimed “immigration control activist” Glenn Spencer; and the newly forming “Civilian Homeland Defense”, called to arms by the recently transplanted Californian and Tombstone newspaper owner, Chris Simcox. In a post-September 11th climate and with an Administration that has supported secret detentions of immigrants, military tribunals, and neighbors reporting on the activities of neighbors, border vigilantes have been attempting to fuel anxieties about terrorism and national security. These groups are broadcasting the message that the U.S. is literally “under siege” by immigrants and that federal law enforcement agencies have failed to protect citizens from this perceived threat. Arizona vigilantes have created a climate of fear and anxiety that further justifies the aggressive and forceful tactics they claim are necessary to “protect our borders”.

While some of these groups refer to private property rights as cause for their paramilitary tactics ,”Hate or Heroism” shows that in all cases, the groups thinly veil their racism and in some cases are connected to national agendas that attack all people of color. The American Border Patrol's Glenn Spencer, for example, can be traced to the Council of Conservative Citizens and to neo-Nazi organizations such as the National Alliance.

The media coverage of vigilante activities tends to grant the greatest amount of air time to their charismatic leaders, offering a small amount of counter-point coverage to human rights groups protesting the widespread abuse of immigrants along the border. The voices of southern Arizona community members, however, barely register and immigrant voices are silenced altogether. For these reasons, the vigilantes are able to cast their actions as both mainstream and patriotic, and the real human costs of these activities are left unknown to outsiders.

“Hate or Heroism” calls for immediate action on a state and federal level. Our research reveals incidence of financial misconduct, a possible violation of state land leases, violations of Arizona's laws, and numerous incidences involving immigrants that warrant further investigation.

Although law enforcement officials have expressed concern about vigilante activities, there has been little action to stop the spread of these groups. On a number of occasions, vigilante leaders have openly challenged the legitimacy of law enforcement agencies, yet, much vigilante group membership consists of retired military, INS, and police officers. The result: law enforcement inaction, which becomes tacit approval of vigilantism and anti-immigrant activities.

Because of increased border militarization, immigration routes have been compressed into rural southern Arizona. This has created a situation in Cochise County that is untenable for immigrants, local residents, human rights advocates, and for anti-immigration advocates alike. In response, vigilantes call for varying degrees of further militarization of the border as a solution. While our report does not include discussion of immigration and border policies or militarization, it does point out that further militarization of the border is not a solution to immigration's impacts on rural communities nor will it affect the numbers of immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The report argues that militarization has actually contributed to the growth of vigilantism and that "more of the same" will only exacerbate the violence, anxiety and fear that the vigilante groups are fomenting.

The report concludes with several concrete recommendations to Governor-elect Napolitano. She must step in and put an end to the emigration of hate groups into southern Arizona. And lastly, we make the point that as a community, we must also step up and speak out. "Hate or Heroism" shows that these groups target all racial and ethnic minorities and not only immigrants or Mexicans. We need to stand together to demand an end to the violence on the border before it escalates


THIS IS ALSO FROM THEIR WEB SITE....SEEMS THEY HAVE TWO SITES THAT ARE LINKED.

I HAVE NEVER HEARD ANY STORIES LIKE THIS, SO I WILL HAVE TO SAY IT'S A LIE.