Desde Adentro “From Within”
I read an article that stated that for the first time in history, Latinos would be the largest ethnic minority to vote in an election. In another, a New York Times headline labeled Latinos as “The Sleeping Giant That Awakens” in the upcoming election. I was taken aback by this statement for many reasons. Amidst years of constant attacks towards the Latino community in the media, I was reminded of our power and influence as a community and our role in the upcoming election. Another reason was because despite being labeled as “rapists” or “invaders” by the government since 2015, this symbolized that there was no way of us slowing down and that we were making history.
I started reflecting on what issues were most important to me. Aside from climate change and gender equity, a huge issue that mattered to me was immigration. Both my parents were immigrants to the United States— my mom came from Mexico and my dad came from Zimbabwe. They spoke about immigration like it was the norm. It was a beautiful thing— those looking for opportunity in a country that was labeled “the land of the free.” Simple right? As I got older I realized that it wasn’t and lately it felt like anything but that. Despite immigration being one of the most important issues to me, I did not know what was occurring at the border. I asked close friends who identified as Latino and even family members. None of us could explain in detail what was going on.
Like many, I was outraged when I heard of the death of a seven year old Guatemalan girl who was trying to pass the border with her father. She had no food or water for several days as she and thousands of other migrants were traveling from Central America to the US border, escaping violence form countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. After experiencing a fever and seizures while in custody, she suffered from cardiac arrest and died.
Another incident I heard about was regarding sexual assault in detention centers and how common it was. According to the Texas Tribune, “allegations include guards attacking victims in camera “blind spots” and telling them that “no one would believe” them in ICE detention centers, which imprison about 50,000 immigrants each year at a taxpayer expense of $2.7 billion.” This was happening at such high rates, but was a headline for a mere few days. I conducted more research and found out that these acts prevented a woman from speaking out about the abuse as she was ready to be deported and no longer would be able to serve as a witness. When more women came forward, they were deported shortly after.
As an Ambassador at the United State of Women, our mission is to bring awareness to grassroots work by giving leaders a platform. I knew immediately that I wanted to hold a webinar that educated others about what I learned and that I wanted to work with two organizations who have been doing work for years to help the situation at the border, Immigrant Defenders and Border Angels.
In a recent event I held through United State of Women titled Desde Adentro, translated to “From Within” in Spanish, I sat down with Lindsay Toczylowski, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Immigrant Defenders and Dulce Garcia, Executive Director of Border Angels. We spoke before the event so I could learn more about their specific work. By the end of each call, I was in awe of what I learned and what was not mentioned in the media. It was painful to admit that I really did not know as much as I thought I did. These headlines were just the tip of the iceberg. Aside from the questions I brought up, I asked them questions that many of those who identify as anti-immigration would ask such as, “Why don’t them come the right way?” and “Get in line” and boy did they answer them. Here is what I learned from Lindsey and Dulce:
The “right” way could take 20+ years before someone receives status and during that time their life could be in danger if they are fleeing violence in another country for example.
The line? Many of them have been in line but there is no line as of now. Though asylum was legal, the current administration has done everything in its power to remove it which means those fleeing persecution or violence no longer have the option of seeking asylum.
Detention Centers on the other hand are a whole other issue. Remember the sexual assault incidents I mentioned above? They are becoming more prevalent across the 20 detention centers that hold thousands of immigrants. Cases are rising and centers like the one located in Adelanto, CA, are being purposely built as far from the border as possible to prevents immigrants from escaping and having access to public transportation. This is to ensure that immigrants do not escape especially when they are assaulted. Currently, many are being assaulted on a daily basis by ICE including thousands, yes thousands, of children.
Amidst the rise in COVID-19, not only are immigrants being diagnosed with COVID at higher rates, but many of the diagnoses lead back to guards at the detention centers who had COVID and interacted with immigrants.
Many ICE staff are spraying detainees with chemicals that are actually peeling off their skin. Their reason? It will help prevent COVID. There is no evidence to this.
Border Angels currently has a program called Water Drop— a program that leaves gallons of water in the desert for immigrants as they are traveling through Mexico to get to the border. Recently, tension has become so high that Border Patrol is firing bullets into these water jugs, preventing thousands of people from getting access to water.
Immigrants crossing the border used to be primarily men, but are now families with small children. With the increase in agents at the border means that there are more threats towards families.
Families are traveling an extra 10 miles through the mountains in 120+ degree weather to avoid potentially being caught by Border Patrol. Many end up giving themselves up because of how distressed they become. Many were found dead and because so many children are trying to cross as well, things like diapers and small backpacks are found throughout the desert with no body in sight.
In 2018 alone, almost 300 migrants died trying to cross the border. Since then, the number of deaths have not been disclosed with many stating the reason is because the numbers would be significantly higher.
Shelters where immigrants would usually stay at are now epicenters for COVID. With little to no space for social distancing, those who are in shelters are even more susceptible to catching COVID. For those who identify as LGBTQ or are from countries other than Latin America, they are subject to assault or even death.
When I asked Lindsey and Dulce what can be done to help with this movement, they told me that it starts with using our platforms to “stay outraged” as Lindsey put it. To take it another step further, the language we use to describe immigrants must change. Though many are hesitant to vote in the upcoming election, Lindsey and Dulce both expressed to me how important it is to vote because despite things that were implemented in presidencies prior, more damage has been done in the past few years than ever before. We also must contact Governors of states where detention centers are to bring awareness to the realities behind these centers. Billions of tax-payer dollars are being sent to these detention centers which is why we have the power to hold our officials acocuntable.
This event meant so much to me. I was able to bring awareness to an issue that is so important to me while also educating myself and others. Border Angels and Immigrant Defenders are incredible organizations who are the forefront of providing humanitarian aid and legal representation to those crossing the border who are as young as a few months old. To support them or learn more about the work they are doing, please visit their websites linked above.