Human Rights Violations

I always used to think of the term "Human Rights Violation" as something that happened in Africa... people being made to do degrading labor etc. I am so far removed from it.

Monday nights I work at the Migrant Resource Center with Leisha, my roommate and dear friend. The Migrant Resource Center, or Centro de Recursos Para Migrantes, is right next to Aduana (Customs) on the Mexican side of the line. When the Border Patrol picks up migrants in the desert, they take them to the Border Patrol Station for "processing" right away. This is where they are finger printed and held until released. When they finally deport the migrants, they drive them to the border on the US side, and watch them walk back through.

This all sounds legit until you look into it a little more closely. Migrants come from everywhere. Not just Agua Prieta, not just Mexico. Some come from as far as El Salvador or even further. This is quite a feat considering that Mexico is about as unwelcoming to Central Americans as the US is to Mexicans. When they are dropped off though, it is in Agua Prieta. Furthermore, it is any time of the day or night. The next interesting fact is that 3 out of every 10 migrants deported is a woman or a young child. So there are women and children being dropped in the middle of a not very safe city where they very well might not know anyone, in the middle of the night.

The City is NOT a safe place for Migrants. There is a whole industry formed around them. Taxis line up right at the port of entry waiting for migrants to ask to be taken to a hotel. Sometime these migrants actually get to a hotel. Other times they are taken to "hospitality houses" where they are allowed to sleep, but upon waking, are told that they cant leave- their families must pay more money. Basically they are held captive and put to work until family somewhere will send whatever money they are asking. The Houses of Hospitality have pre-arranged deals with certain taxi drivers.

We DO have many places in the city where migrants can go to be safe for the night- CAME (roughly "Center for the Attention of Migrants in Exodus") being one of them. Migrants can go there to eat and sleep. CAME isn't very far from the border, but walking even a block at night is dangerous for a Migrant. They kind of standout- people know what to look for. Lucky for us there is an organization called Grupo Beta which is there representing the Mexican Government to protect Migrants. Their bright orange dodge pickup trucks make their building easy to find right my the US port of entry. Unfortunately, Grupo Beta also has a reputation for dirty dealings. Cerro Gallardo, the mountain just outside of town here in AP, is a pretty cool place to hike and climb. It is also, however, know as the place where a lot of human trafficking transactions occur. SO when Migrants get into those orange trucks at Grupo Beta they end up at CAME... sometimes.... but sometimes at Cerro Gallardo. Human trafficking is huge when it comes to migration. There are people held captive all over the United States- Not just from Mexico, but from many countries. There is a great documentary called "Lives for Sale" about migration and human trafficking. Here is a link to a excerpt from the documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWoaIXlkMWc

This is just one little bit of what is going on down on the border. I know I have been negligent in my blogging. I plan to do better at it. The problem is that there is SO much to say and I don't want to leave anything out. I will just have to settle with giving what I can I suppose.

Be well. Please keep in prayer those whose lives are not in their own hands.