from Humanity is Borderless
Join Humanity is Borderless Campaign, an initiative by the Human Rights Coalition of South Texas, for the National Humanitarian Vigil: In solidarity with refugees and immigrants on August 9th for the immigrant communities in our nation and for refugees fleeing violence from their home countries and let President Obama and his administration know that they have an obligation to this country.
We demand humane immigration policies where Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforcement Status (DED) will be granted for persons fleeing from violence from Central America and regions of Mexico and extend Deferred Action to longtime, hardworking settled families who are under fear of deportation. This is a human rights issue, and it is our human and moral responsibility to stand with our brothers and sisters.
Description:
For decades immigrant rights groups have mobilized, protested and written numerous letters to our president and Congress to fix our broken immigration system; yet, our voices have faded away in the ears of our political leaders. Now, with the influx of Central American children in our southern borders, it has become a “crisis,” a crisis that has long existed due to the unequal economic relationships created by U.S. foreign policies.
Thousands of children and families from Central America and regions of Mexico cross the southern U.S. border every year to escape violence or economic plight in their home countries. They are forced to migrate in order to survive.
Those who reach the United Stated come in deplorable conditions, starving, with torn shoes and scarred skin. At our local shelters, we hear the stories and see the real images of the young mothers, children and adolescents who are detained under miserable conditions with no knowledge of their destiny. Many have witnessed family members killed, raped or tortured by gang members fearing their own lives. Fearing for their safety, they journeyed to the U.S. Many have endured extreme injuries; others have been exploited, abused, and endangered by “coyotes.” These refugees are then placed in shelters or detention facilities with little or no medical care.
They are clearly refugees fleeing violence from their homelands. Yet, even with the crisis, the response from the U.S. has been neglectful, mistakenly making an argument to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and invest two billion dollars to continue to militarize our borders and expedite the deportation process for those escaping violence, who should be protected as refugees. These proposals are not the answer to this humanitarian crisis.
In addition, HRCSTX demands that Deferred Action be extended to hardworking settled families who live in fear of deportation. The HRCSTX joins other sectors of the immigrant rights movement in calling for full administrative relief from President Obama towards immigrant communities to ensure families are no longer terrorized with the constant fear of deportation and separation. We uphold family unity and safety as essential human rights, values that undoubtedly intersect with the cases of refugees and immigrants in our nation.
The United States needs to respond humanely and allow our communities to live a peaceful and just life, not deport them to the economic plight or physical violence that forced them to flee to our country.
It is time to stand in solidarity and unify as one nation, as one community and let our government know that enough is enough. We are a land of immigrants. Humanity is borderless.
Please don’t forget to pray for the US Citizens who have no path to “legalize” undocumented spouses, 100’s of thousands of whom are living abroad – exiled in developing countries – or separated from their beloveds, waiting out bans that can last literally a lifetime for simple administrative violations. Contrary to popular belief, marriage does not equal green card.