WASHINGTON, DC – Amnesty International and the National Immigrant Justice Center are sending an international delegation of senior leadership to monitor the impact of US policy on asylum seekers and migrants traveling to the US-Mexico border. The delegation will be traveling from January 27 to 31. They will be meeting with Mexican and US authorities, documenting conditions at shelters in Tijuana for families and individuals whom the US had denied access to asylum protections, and meeting with non-governmental organizations directly working with asylum-seekers and migrants in El Paso.
The delegation includes ; Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada ; Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA; Tania Reneaum, executive director of Amnesty International Mexico; Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland; Philippe Hensmans, director of Amnesty International Belgium; and John Peder Egenes, head of Amnesty International Norway. They will be joined by Mary Meg MacCarthy, executive director of the National Immigrant Justice Center.
Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA, stated:
“We have come together to show the US government that the eyes of the world are on the southern border. While President Trump continues to fight for a border wall, thousands of children and families are being forced to wait for protection while enduring dangerous conditions in Mexico.
“The US government has manufactured this crisis, defying international law while heartlessly putting families and individuals in harm’s way. Families and individuals traveling to the border are not a national security crisis—they are people like you and me, except that they have left their home to seek protection from persecution and violence. We must not abandon those who have lost everything and are trying to rebuild their lives.”
Amnesty International has previously documented the range of human right violations committed by the US government against people seeking asylum at the southern border with Mexico, including illegal pushbacks, ill-treatment in immigration detention, and devastating policies such as family separation and detention.
CONTACT: Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations 416-363-9933 ext 332 bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca
