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Migrants and Refugees

Border Activist Calls on Feds to Stop Texas’ Anti-Immigrant Campaign

The U.S. government should stop Texas' anti-immigrant campaign, says border activist Fernando Garcia. We need more welcoming centers at the southern border, not more militarization, he adds.

Facts Refute the Lies Told About Immigrants

Refuting the lies that undocumented immigrants are “more likely to commit crimes,” and that immigrants take jobs away from people in the U.S.

Immigrant Communities Honor Six Workers Killed in Baltimore Bridge Collapse

Six men who were working filling potholes on the Francis Scott Key Bridge are presumed dead. Two bodies were found trapped in a submerged vehicle in the river. The six men, immigrant workers who had lived in the area for years, are among thousands of immigrant workers who help keep the Baltimore area functioning.

At the U.S.-Mexico Border: Fight Against Texas SB4 Continues

The movement against Texas’ SB4 law continues, undeterred by a highly contested U.S. Supreme Court ruling clearing the way for the law allowing Texas police to arrest and deport people they “suspect” are in Texas illegally.

Two Attempted Suicides in Midst of 200-People Hunger Strike at ICE Detention Center

The following is a March 11, 2024 press release from La Resistencia about the hunger strikes, attempted suicides, and death at the Northwest Detention...

Dora Rodriguez: Migrant Survivor Commits Her Life to Aid Migrants

For International Women’s Month we honor Dora Rodriguez, migrant survivor and Director of Salvavision, an organization providing support to asylum seekers and migrants. Dora exemplifies women’s contribution to peace and a better world.

There’s Money to Take Care of Both Residents and Immigrants

The state of Texas and the federal government squander billions militarizing the border with Mexico, when this money could be used to take care of the needs of both immigrants and U.S. residents alike.

Dora Rodriguez: Tell Migrants’ Stories to Change the Border Narrative

A Salvadorian migrant who nearly died crossing through the Arizona desert on foot speaks of the need to tell the stories of migrants to get people to recognize the needs and human rights of immigrants.

Immigrant Rights Activists Gather in Arizona as Border Battle Heats Up

Witness at the Border held a conference in January in Ajo, Arizona, to assess the situation facing migrants and refugees and to discuss what the future holds for the immigration rights movement.

Immigrant Rights Activists to Gather in January in Arizona

From January 12-15, 2024, the Witness at the Border immigrant rights group is sponsoring a Workshop for Justice/Taller por la Justicia in Ajo, Arizona to reflect on the fight for the rights of migrants and asylum seekers and where we go from here. The registration deadline is December 15.

Appeals Court Tells Texas to Remove Rio Grande Buoy ‘Death Traps’

Despite Texas Gov. Abbott's pledge to continue the battle, opponents of 4-foot-wide orange spherical buoys—which span 1,000 feet of the Rio Grande River—celebrated the appeals court decision to remove them.

Chicago Can Be A Welcoming Sanctuary City

Some Chicagoans are angry at the migrants for, in their view, draining our resources. It is understandable why people are frustrated, however, migrants are not the austerity imposers. Profit-making corporations leave Chicagoans with food deserts, underfunded schools, shuttered mental health clinics, and over 68,000 Chicagoans without housing. There should be enough for everybody. Our elected officials do not fund enough resources for the public.

More Than Two Months at the Wall. . .

AFSC staff and partners served thousands of meals through the border wall, clothed thousands weekly, and alleviated the pain, uncertainty, and fear for many. While elected officials hesitate, the community mobilizes.

The ‘Open Border’ Farce

The Biden administration will break all records for paying border contractors. At the same time, the administration announced it would waive 26 laws protecting people, including the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, to put up a new section of border wall in Starr County, Texas.

Open-Air Detention: The ‘New Normal’

The Border Patrol's San Diego sector is violating Customs and Border Protection's national standards by once again holding hundreds of asylum-seeking migrants in open-air detention areas.

Women-Led Groups in Chicago Spearhead Response to Migrant Influx

The Texas governor bused more than 13,000 migrants to Chicago. Many came without shoes. Chicago women — many who have themselves suffered displacement —are leading aid efforts and unity, with over 200 partnerships. Federal action is demanded.

Interview with a DREAMER

Luz Melissa Cortes Nieto had the opportunity to attend a study abroad program dedicated to DREAMERS across the U.S., like herself. She interviews Dreamers she met during her travels.

Ajo Residents, Activists Protest Inhumane Conditions for Asylum Seekers

In recent months, it's come to light that dozens of asylum seekers have been held outside in dangerous heat at the Ajo, Arizona, Border Patrol Station. Melissa del Bosque of The Border Chronicle traveled to Ajo to talk with local residents and activists who are monitoring and protesting the situation.

Texas Trooper Says Superiors Ordered Officers to Push Migrants Back into River & Deny Water

A Texas state trooper’s claims that superiors ordered officers at the border to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water has sparked a state investigation.

Texas governor’s political stunt: Chicagoans Refuse to be Divided

More than 11,000 immigrants have been sent to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott since last year. In a spirit of caring, Chicago voted to allocate $51 million to care for migrants through the end of June. Chicago officials have demanded that the Illinois governor act to stop Abbott from using vulnerable people as political pawns.

‘We Need to Change the Entire Industrial Agricultural System’

Dr. Ann Lopez, PhD, founder and executive director of the Center for Farmworker Families (CFF), speaks with the People’s Tribune during a monthly distribution of food, clothes and household goods in Watsonville, CA organized by the Center and other non-profit groups and volunteers.

Three Months After Flood, California Farmworkers Still Need Help

The People's Tribune recently interviewed two farmworker women from Pájaro, California, who described how farmworker families in the area are still hurting months after the March floods devastated Pájaro.

Out-Trumping Trump at the Border

As Todd Miller demonstrates in this article, though Title 42 has ended, the Border-Industrial Complex continues to ensure that the borderlands will remain one of the most militarized and surveilled places on Earth.

A System of Death: 8-year-old Girl dies in Border Patrol Custody

Eight-year-old girl dies in Border Patrol Custody. Our current system relies upon deterrence, not protecting. How many more deaths will we allow in the name of securing our borders?

Fentanyl at the Border: Seek Truth & Don’t Repeat Lies

Fentanyl is a killer drug. Both Democrats and Republicans often associate smuggling as done by migrants coming across the U.S/Mexico border. Why are elected officials blaming migrants when facts show that it is U.S. citizens getting arrested for drug trafficking?

Tijuana: How Much Suffering Can a Person Take? Migrants Are Human!

The Border Patrol for months has been detaining migrants for days at a time at the border between Tijuana, Mexico, and San Diego, California, in what amounts to an open-air prison, where the migrant men, women and children have suffered degrading, cruel and inhumane treatment.

A Special Show: Texas Governor Sends More Troops to the Border

The author is in the Rio Grande Valley witnessing desperate people swimming across the river for asylum on the eve of the elimination of Title 42.

Webinar May 11: The Deadly Impact of Deterring Migration on the US-Mexico Border

Please join us May 11, 2023, at 10 a.m. Pacific, Noon Central time, for a webinar on how efforts by the U.S. and Mexican governments to deter migration are harming people on both sides of the border.

Why Are Farmworker Families Going Hungry?

The People's Tribune interviewed Dr. Ann Lopez of the Center for Farmworker Families regarding the disgraceful way farmworker families are treated along California's central coast. She talks about how farmworkers suffer from racism, agribusiness exploitation, and an uncaring government, especially in the wake of the recent floods in Pajaro, and what her organization does to help farmworkers. She also calls for reform of the entire industrial agricultural system.

A Wave of Evictions Is Devastating California’s Farmworkers

Farmworker housing is in crisis in rural CA, as in almost every agricultural state. In 2021, grape pickers in the San Joaquin Valley still sleep in cars during the harvest. The author tells why.

San Diego Nurse: Border Wall is Killing and Injuring People

A nurse at a San Diego hospital describes the medical and human rights crisis that results from the 30-foot border wall killing and injuring immigrants who fall while trying to scale the wall.

Statement on the Tragedy at the Detention Center in Juárez, Mexico

This tragedy, like the many others that have become a normal feature of our immigration and asylum systems, will continue to happen if policymakers are unwilling to transition to rights-centered policies to address international migration.

Texas Governor Wants to Deny Undocumented Kids an Education

Texas Governor Abbot’s new bill would prohibit children not authorized to be in the country from attending public school.

Biden Appears to Ditch His Immigration Promise

President Biden squanders an opportunity to be bold on immigration at his State of the Union speech before Congress.

Family of Man Killed by Border Patrol Seeks Justice from International Body

After Anastasio Hernández Rojas was beaten to death by U.S. Border Patrol agents in 2010, his family ultimately had to take the case to an international human rights body to seek justice. This is the first case of its kind.

Vote NO on the ‘Border Safety and Security Act’

A number of organizations sent a letter to members of Congress to reject the politics of fear and hate and vote no on the “Border Safety and Security Act.”

When Will Our Government Recognize the Human Rights of Migrants and Refugees?

The way the US government denies the human rights of migrants and refugees is immoral and a threat to everyone's rights.

Planned Border Wall Expansion Threatens Friendship Park

SAN DIEGO, CA – The Friends of Friendship Park reject and condemn the most recent proposal to erect 30-foot walls in Friendship Park. The...

‘Plane Wreck at Los Gatos’ – 75 years later

Musician Woody Guthrie was outraged by the callous indifference of news stories after the plane crash of 1948. The 27 men and one woman who were passengers, were unnamed, dismissed as “deportees,” who died in the crash. Out of Guthrie's anger came a song – “Plane Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportee).”

Biden Expands Title 42 Causing Harm to Migrants and Asylum Seekers

Pres. Biden expanded the Trump-era Title 42 public health order, which prevents migrants from certain countries from using their legal right to make asylum claims in the U.S. It endangers the lives of migrants from Cuba, Nicaragua, Haïti, México, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela who will now be expelled when they cross into the U.S. between ports of entry.

The Border: ‘Witnessing It Changes Your Life’

Some participants in the recently completed Journey for Justice along the US-Mexico border describe what moved them to make the 2,200 mile journey from Texas to California.

Volunteers at the Border Welcome Migrants and Refugees

Andrea Rudnik, a co-founder of a volunteer organization that assists migrants and refugees in Brownsville, TX, told the People's Tribune her group is helping 400 to 500 people every day.

The War of Conquest Continues

Members of the Witness at the Border group and others are traveling the length of the US-Mexico border from Texas to California Dec. 3-18, 2022. This story and photo are from a Dec. 14 Facebook post by Joshua Rubin, founder of Witness at the Border who says, “The wall is the physical manifestation of the blind eye we turn to those that the conquest has robbed and deprived.”

Journey For Justice Visits Border Town of Brownsville, Texas

See photos of Witness at the Border’s Journey for Justice, a 2,200-mile pilgrimage along the length of the US-Mexico border. Dozens from all over the country will commemorate those who died at the US-Mexico border – 2022 was a record year, 856 deaths as of October 22 – and highlight the injustice of our immigration policies.

Journey for Justice Begins: Seeks Truth Behind the Border Wall of Lies

The Journey for Justice, which begins on December 2, will caravan from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific, to witness the truth behind the border wall of lies, and to share it with the public.

DACA Continues in Legal Limbo, But … The Struggle Continues!

The 10th anniversary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was celebrated this year. In October, a federal appeals court affirmed a 2021 lower court ruling that DACA was illegal, putting DACA’s continued existence in doubt.

Border Pilgrimage to Highlight Immorality of Immigration Policy

Witness at the Border is organizing a 2,200-mile border pilgrimage from Brownsville, Texas to San Ysidro, California in early December to spotlight the brutality and immorality of US immigration policy.

The Decay of a Binational and Family Park After 1000 Days of Closure

October 29, 2022, marks the 1000th day that Friendship Park in San Diego/Tijuana has been closed. The fight to reopen this historic binational meeting place on the US-Mexico border continues.

Republicans Use Migrants for Political Games

It is shameful that Governors DeSantis, Abbot, and Ducey play politics with the lives of people seeking asylum and who are extremely vulnerable to abuse. Their political base may applaud these dangerous theatrics that could provoke more horrific acts of violence, but that shouldn’t absolve them of the responsibility and culpability they share in inciting such acts of violence.

Join Us: Zoom Discussion Aug. 11 on Saving Friendship Park

Friendship Park, a historic meeting place for separated families on the border between San Diego and Tijuana, is in danger of being closed. Join us Aug. 11, 2022, for a virtual panel discussion on efforts to save the park.

Political Limbo: DACA’S 10 Year Anniversary

The DACA program was created in 2015 only after immense pressure from youth due to the massIve amount of deportations under the Obama administration. DACA has allowed more immigrants opportunities but leaves out an enormous amount of immigrants. It is time we shift the focus to demanding protection for all undocumented immigrants.

Uvalde and the Border Security Scam

The Uvalde massacre occurred in an existing, de facto war zone. The border security apparatus created by elected officials—Republicans and Democrats—has converted South Texas communities into a real and symbolic theater, complete with armed agents and heavy weapons, to project an image of toughness and power.

Biden Plans to Finish Trump Border Wall at Friendship Park

Friendship Park, on the U.S.-Mexico border south of San Diego, is a historic location where families separated by the border have been able to come and visit one another through the border fence. Now Biden's plans to continue Trump's border wall may effectively close the U.S. side of the park to the public.

End an Immigration System that Sets Migrants Up to Die

The deaths of the 53 people who perished near San Antonio June 27 and the deaths of the thousands of other migrants who have died trying to cross the border over the years are the result of an unjust immigration system that denies the humanity of migrants.

Central American Refugees: Critical Reflections One Year into the Biden Administration’s ‘Do not Come’ Policy

The Zooming to the Border Coalition, which includes the People's Tribune and Tribuno del Pueblo, is sponsoring a panel discussion June 7 via Zoom on the situation facing Central American refugees.

Immigrant detention

The Biden administration has unnecessarily—and often unlawfully—jailed tens of thousands of asylum-seekers, many of whom have suffered “severe” physical and psychological abuse and discrimination, according to a report published April 21.

Another Border Patrol Killing, Another Possible Cover-up?

The Border Patrol killed another migrant along the southern border in Arizona in February, and once again there are questions about the integrity of the investigation into the killing.

Migrants and Refugees at the US Mexico Border: Let them in!

The US should be a sanctuary for any human being who has been displaced or threatened and fleeing for their lives.

Faith-based communities fight for defense of immigrants

What is your opinion of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention centers? ICE’s agenda is to keep immigrants from doing their daily activities, whether ...

Humans have a higher moral value than a dollar

Everyone is aching for the kind of America we want and against what Trump and the class he represents need. Trump is not alone, he represents a class that is organized ...

No more walls along the border!

There is an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is a photo of the “wall” at the US-Mexican border, where family members on the US side speak through ...

A nation of immigrants

“The United States IS a nation of immigrants. The colonization of America was the result of revolutionary changes taking place in the methods of producing the necessities ...

Divided we fall

The attack on immigrants in America is relentless, as the articles in this issue of the paper illustrate. We must draw a line now. It is not possible—and our rulers are well aware—to have a ...

Why are children denied birth certificates in America?

The state of Texas is already practicing Donald Trump’s and other candidates’ propositions to deny citizenship to U.S. born children whose parents are ...

Is Trump The New Hitler?

Trump’s latest call for pogroms against about 12 million people, including “anchor babies” who are half this amount, and deporting all undocumented ...

Attack on immigrants aims to cultivate a fascist movement

The billionaire Donald Trump, and his racist rants against the immigrant worker are just the tip of the iceberg. Trump is trying to tap into and ...

Attack on immigration programs are an attack on all workers

The recent court decisions to halt two immigration programs are an attack on all workers. A few days before the Expanded DACA (Deferred Action for ...

Every social process moves to the beat of consciousness

Laura Garcia, editor of the Tribuno del Pueblo, had the privilege of talking with Father Alejandro Solalinde who headed a Caravan through the U.S. to denounce the brutality suffered by migrants ...

San Jose Immigrant-labor Rights March Shows the Way

One of the largest May First immigrant-and-labor-rights marches in the country was in San Jose, California this year. As many as 20,000 people marched the three miles from ...

U.S. Citizenship for Immigrants: Central to Working Class Unity

Undocumented workers are among the most exploited, low-wage workers in the U.S. They are forced to live in constant fear of deportation, isolated in the shadows of mainstream American society. This isolation of the immigrant worker is directed at

HARVEST OF EMPIRE: A HISTORY OF LATINOS IN AMERICA by Juan Gonzalez

Reviewed by Chuck Parker This is probably the best book that you could read to understand the current debate over immigration reform. It shows how...

The Dictators and Billionaires Take Control

The Whirlpool Corporation has unveiled a plan to completely gentrify downtown Benton Harbor, Michigan. This is being accomplished with the aid of the new Emergency Manager, Tony Saunders ...

Cross-Border unity against corporate partnerships

 A movement of movements is re-uniting across the globe to say “ENOUGH!” to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)—an international proposal being pushed by the Obama...

Black-Latino Unity Key to Working Class Unity

Black History Month  With the start of a new year it is fitting to look back at history to see where we have been to...

A Danger to All: Militarization of US-Mexico Border

 SAN DIEGO, CA—In less than six weeks four tragic deaths—three civilians and one Border Patrol agent—have marred the U.S.-Mexico border. In the most recent...