Migrants

Migrant Caravans Challenge the Continent’s Governments

November 17, 2018 Dan La Botz, Newpol.org Educate! Caravan, Central America, Immigration, Internationalism, Migrants

Central American migrants, both desperate and courageous, have thrust themselves into the center of Mexican and U.S. politics with their demand for refuge and asylum. As the head of the NGO Pueblos Sin Fronteras told a reporter, “This isn’t just a caravan, it’s an exodus created by hunger and death.” The thousands of migrants organized in caravans and walking north from Central America, through Mexico, and to the United States—some 3,000 miles—have raised a challenge to the governments and to the people of North America. Driven by poverty and violence, their long march is an implicit critique of the Central American governments that have failed to protect them and have made it impossible for them to earn a living.

Press Release From The Central American Migrant Exodus For Life

November 15, 2018 Staff, Resumen-english.org Educate! Caravan, Central America, Immigration, Migrants

Today marks 31 days of the historic exodus of Central American migrants, known as the “Migrant Caravan,” which departed from Honduran territory on October 13, 2018. Our exodus is a consequence of forced displacement caused by the widespread systematic violence suffered by men, women, children and entire families who flee from poverty and impunity in our countries of origin. The whole world is watching with great concern as more than 13 thousand people in Mexican territory advance towards the U.S. border. This monumental collective rejection of violence has reached the dimension of a humanitarian crisis. In an exercise of autonomy as a displaced group, we named a delegation to dialogue with United Nations authorities in Mexico on behalf of the more than five thousand migrants housed at the shelter in Mexico City, Mexico.

Mexico Offers ‘You Are Home’ Human Rights Plan To Migrants

October 29, 2018 Staff, Gob.mx Resist! Caravan, Human Rights, Immigration, Mexico, Migrants

In light of the unprecedented flow of people from Central American countries who have entered the last few days through the southern border, President Enrique Peña Nieto today announced the "You are at home" Plan whose main objective is to provide work options temporary while their immigration status is resolved. Mexico is a country that values and recognizes the dignity of migrants, regardless of their migratory status, as well as their contributions to the economic, social and cultural development of the countries of destination, transit, origin and return. The "You are in your house" plan consists of two main components...

Why Do They Flee?

June 29, 2018 William Blum, Williamblum.org Educate! Border, Immigration, Latin America, Migrants, Undocumented

The current mass exodus of people from Central America to the United States, with the daily headline-grabbing stories of numerous children involuntarily separated from their parents, means it’s time to remind my readers once again of one of the primary causes of these periodic mass migrations. Those in the US generally opposed to immigration make it a point to declare or imply that the United States does not have any legal or moral obligation to take in these Latinos. This is not true. The United States does indeed have the obligation because many of the immigrants, in addition to fleeing from drug violence, are escaping an economic situation in their homeland directly made hopeless by American interventionist policy.

A Treacherous Crossing

January 31, 2018 Kathy Kelly, Vcnv.org Educate! Africa, Border, Immigration, Migrants

On January 23rd an overcrowded smuggling boat capsized off the coast of Aden in Southern Yemen. Smugglers packed 152 passengers from Somalia and Ethiopia in the boat and then, while at sea, reportedly pulled guns on the migrants to extort additional money from them. The boat capsized, according to The Guardian, after the shooting prompted panic. The death toll, currently 30, is expected to rise. Dozens of children were on board. The passengers had already risked the perilous journey from African shores to Yemen, a dangerous crossing that leaves people vulnerable to false promises, predatory captors, arbitrary detention and tortuous human rights violations. Sheer desperation for basic needs has driven hundreds of thousands of African migrants to Yemen.

London NGOs Help Authorities Detain, Deport Homeless Migrants

March 10, 2017 Staff, www.telesurtv.net Educate! Deportations, Homelessness, Migrants, NGOs

By Staff of Tele Sur - The war on the homeless has turned into a war on migrants and non-profits are readily offering their services. London nonprofits are collaborating with immigration authorities that collect intelligence and conduct raids to detain and deport hundreds of homeless people, and are even lobbying for harsher policies, according to a report published Tuesday. At least three organizations with the shared goal of ending homelessness and connecting the vulnerable to appropriate resources — St. Mungo’s, Thames Reach, and Change, Grow, Live — regularly conduct joint operations with the Home Office “Immigration Compliance and Enforcement” and “through a creeping process of changes they are being turned into informers,” Corporate Watch found in its investigation.

The People And Courts Stop Muslim Immigration Ban

January 29, 2017 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Donald Trump, Immigrant Rights, Immigration, Migrants, Refugees

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance. Protests at airports across the country sprung up like a brush fire in reaction to Donald Trump ban on travel from certain Muslim-majority countries. And, courts in multiple states issued emergency orders initially to stop deportations but ultimately to block detentions of people traveling to the United States from this countries. Courts issued rulings in New York, Virginia, Massachusetts and Washington State. Now, there is a nationwide stay preventing deportations and detentions. This morning Donald Trump tweeted that "Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world — a horrible mess!" Before noon, the White House changed its tune reversing itself and saying green card holders will not be barred but added confusion saying border agents would have "discretionary authority" to detain people and that there would be increased scrutiny of everyone, including US citizens, coming from the seven countries.

European Cities Organizing To Respond To Migrant Crisis

December 29, 2016 Eleanor Penny, www.opendemocracy.net Create! Cities, Europe, Immigration, Migrants

By Eleanor Penny for Open Democracy - European city councils have launched an initiative to co-ordinate their responses to the migrant crisis, in defiance of the apathy of some national governments. Nationalism, if it ever left us, is definitively back in vogue. With nationalist parties resurgent throughout Europe, more and more European nationals are vesting their political hopes in national governments. But for those new migrants without increasingly-coveted EU citizenship, the institutions most likely to come to their aid are not nation states, but local and city governments. For what now seems like a brief moment, the German state led the way in ‘progressive’ policies towards refugee reception

Groups Calling For International Convergence At U.S./Mexico Border

August 29, 2016 Staff, www.soaw.org Resist! Immigrant Rights, Immigration, Migrants

By Staff of SOAW - Nogales, AZ – Thousands of activists throughout the United States and Mexico will gather on both sides of the border since the School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) is moving its annual vigil to the line between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora from October 7-10, 2016. After holding an annual vigil at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, for 26 years, SOA Watch and partner groups, based on broad-based grassroots power, will push back against militarization of the border, against criminalization of migrants and refugees, and to name the root causes of migration.

Transnational Day Of Protests Against Detention Of Migrants

May 17, 2016 Leeds No Borders, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Immigrant Rights, Migrants

By Leeds No Borders for Popular Resistance, A coalition of groups from the UK and around the world joined today (Saturday 7 May) a mass simultaneous protest in 15 detention centres, calling to end immigration detention centres. An international coalition joined forces with groups from all around the UK as well as groups from the US, Spain, Greece, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Iceland, N. Ireland, Belgium, France and Italy. In the UK, thousands took part in the protest in solidarity with the 30,000 adults and children in detention. Protesters held demonstrations at St Pancras train station, held noise demonstration in various detention centres, flew kites so detainees can see them beyond the high walls, danced, sang songs and called for the immediate release of those held against their will without judicial oversight, a time limit, or adequate access to legal support, translation, and healthcare.

Europe’s Colonial Amnesia & Repercussions

February 5, 2016 Henriette Johansen, www.middleeastmonitor.com Educate! Colonialism, Europe, Migrants, Refugees

By Henriette Johansen for MEMO - The daily updates I receive from volunteers working in Calais and on the Greek islands of Lesvos and Chios are heart-breaking. As I sat to write this, a volunteer nurse from Denmark described her night shift to me, driving up and down the coast of Chios, turning off all lights with the other volunteers in order to be able to see the refugee boats come in. They stand outside, listening for the smallest sounds over the beating of the merciless winter waves. Another volunteer from Lesbos told me that they sometimes receive as many as 800 to 1,000 people on the Greek island during such night shifts.

Greek Match Delayed Players Protest Migrant Deaths

January 31, 2016 Reuters, www.theguardian.com Resist! Greece, Migrants, Trurkey

Reuters published inThe Guardian. A Greek second-tier league match was delayed on Friday when players staged a sit-down protest against the death toll of migrants trying to reach the Aegean islands. The gesture of solidarity took place before the game between AEL Larissa and Acharnaikos in the Thessalian city of Larissa. As the match kicked off all 22 players plus coaches and substitutes sat in silence for two minutes in a show of respect to the hundreds of refugees who have lost their lives trying to escape conflict or persecution in countries such as Syria and Iraq. An announcement over the club’s PA system stated: “The administration of AEL, the coaches and the players will observe two minutes of silence just after the start of the match in memory of the hundreds of children who continue to lose their lives every day in the Aegean due to the brutal indifference of the EU and Turkey.

ISIS Should Not Dictate Refugee Policy Or Privacy

November 29, 2015 Chelsea Manning, www.theguardian.com Educate! ISIS, Migrants, Paris

By Chelsea Manning for the Guardian. Following the horrific attacks by Isis terrorists in Paris and Beirut, we have rapidly seen blatant pandering to xenophobia on a disturbing scale and scope. Leaders throughout the US and Europe have demanded that authorities stifle the flow of migrants seeking asylum, and to increase the size and depths of intelligence and law enforcement powers in the US and Europe. I don’t have all the answers – but I do know that blaming minority groups, refugees and immigrants, investing in gigantic surveillance platforms and calling for expansive legal authority and the creation of a neo-Gestapo and panopticon-style police state aren’t one of them. Even in the weeks and months before the attacks, rightwing parties in Europe – most notably the National Front in France – have attempted to exploit a rising xenophobic sentiment following this year’s influx of migrants seeking refuge from Syria, Iraq and other parts of the Middle East. Immediately following the attacks such fears have “gone viral” in a way that is disturbing and frightening.

60 Million Displaced By War, UN & Red Cross Issue Warning

November 1, 2015 UN and Red Cross, www.icrc.org Educate! Migrants, Red Cross, United Nations, Wars and Militarism

By UN and Red Cross - The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, have issued an unprecedented joint warning about the impact of today's conflicts on civilians and appealed for urgent and concrete action to address human suffering and insecurity. The two leaders stressed the importance of respect for international humanitarian law in order to stem the chaos and prevent further instability. Some sixty million people around the world have been displaced from their homes because of conflict and violence – the highest figure since the Second World War. Conflicts have become more protracted, meaning that many displaced people face years away from their homes, communities and livelihoods. "In the face of blatant inhumanity, the world has responded with disturbing paralysis," said the Secretary-General. "This flouts the very raison d'être of the United Nations. The world must reaffirm its humanity and uphold its commitments under international humanitarian law. Today we speak with one voice to urge all States to take immediate, concrete steps to ease the plight of civilians."

Welcoming Refugees: Our Future Is Common

October 19, 2015 Jerome Roos, www.telesurtv.net Educate! Europe, Migrants, Refugees

By Jerome Roos for Tele Sur TV - The “refugee crisis” of recent months has split Europe in two. But unlike the liberal press would have us believe, the main dividing line runs not between those states (like Germany) that have taken a more humane approach to the crisis by accepting more refugees, and those (like Hungary) that have shut their borders and cracked down violently on anyone attempting to cross them. Rather, the real schism is the one between states and institutions that jealously guard their borders, clinging on to an exclusionary territorial logic that is rapidly becoming untenable, and the ordinary people on the ground – refugees, activists and locals alike – who are self-organizing solidarity beyond borders and creating a radically different kind of Europe from below.

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