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The Hindu
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Migrant families protest after U.S.-Mexico reunion event cancelled
Families separated by the U.S.-Mexico border staged a demonstration Saturday (Mat 10, 2025) on both sides of the boundary, where U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive anti-migrant policies forced the cancellation of a Mother's Day reunion event. The American military last week set up a zone in Texas on the U.S. southern border where troops are authorized to detain people crossing illegally. The establishment of the zone led American officials to cancel the 'Hugs, Not Walls' event, which has been held annually since 2016 by the Border Network for Human Rights advocacy group. The event scheduled for Saturday (Mat 10, 2025), one day before Mother's Day, was meant to bring together undocumented migrants in the US with their family members in Mexico. 'We have been doing this since 2016 without any problems, and now we have been banned from using this section of the border,' Irma Cruz of the Border Network told AFP, calling the move 'devastating.' The group urged the 100 families that had signed up for the reunion event to join a protest in the Mexican border city of Cuidad Juarez. It also called on families in El Paso, the Texas city across from Cuidad Juarez, to demonstrate too. 'There are so many mothers on both sides without their children, unable to hug them,' Ms. Cruz said. 'We chose this day precisely to draw attention to the fact that this is a humanitarian crisis,' she added. Matilde Rosales, who has not seen her sister Isabel in person in eight years, said the event's cancellation was a 'heavy blow.' She called on Trump to reconsider his border policies and allow the event to go ahead. 'It's five minutes, but it's a lot for us,' she said, wiping tears away. Standing about 100 meters (110 yards) away from each other on either side of the Rio Bravo river, the family members waved and used binoculars to catch a glimpse of each other. Alejandro Ordaz, 46, traveled more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the city of Torreon to hug his mother, who has lived in the United States for 20 years. 'I hope to God that one day I will be able to hug her again,' he told AFP.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
El Pasoan residents march to demand respect for border community's dignity and rights
Borderland residents continue to voice their repudiation of the Trump administration's anti-immigrant policies. The march brought together faith leaders, union representatives from the AFL-CIO and farm workers organizations to defend the dignity of the community amidst attacks from the Trump administration, which has sought to paint the border community as a chaotic place overrun by illegal immigration. The late morning sun beat down on a hundred or so marchers who joined the protest to reclaim dignity and rights of residents in the Borderland. Those who joined marched from the barrio of Chihuahuita near the Paso del Norte bridge to Parque San Jacinto. Over a hundred people came out Saturday, May 3, from across the El Pasoan community to reject the Trump administration's attacks on migrants, on health care and against workers. Protesters carried signs defending due process, migrant rights and the rights to education as a group of Matachines danced and other protesters carried giant marionetas. Saturday's march was organized by the El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights. "We are all Americans, whether we are migrants or non-migrants," Fernando García, the executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, said. "Today is the reaffirmation of our human rights, of our civil rights, and also for our dignity as a community at the border." The number of migrants crossing the southern border with Mexico are at the lowest levels in decades. More: Federal judge declines to block Trump's immigration enforcement in sacred places The march comes as the Trump administration has increased his attacks on immigrants, arbitrarily arresting migrants and deporting many without due process. The escalation has generated fear within immigrant communities, but the march is another way of breaking the fear, said Rosemary Rojas with the Border Agricultural Workers Project, who joined the march. "Right now and every day we have to make our voices heard, we have to be visible," Rojas said. "The dignity that has been stripped and the fear that has been injected is not justice." More: Mexico moves to outlaw foreign propaganda after US runs anti-migrant ad across border Saturday's march also raises concerns and rejects the cuts coming to the federal government. The Trump administration's gutting of federal government, including rolling back the Department of Education and the gutting of health and social services, is raising concern for El Paso's elected officials. "There is a lot of uncertainty right now with funding," El Paso City Rep. Josh Acevedo of District 2 said. "We don't realize that the federal government gives El Paso hundreds of millions of dollars. Public safety is going to be affected by losing money; our public health is going to be affected. We need to make sure that people know. We ring the alarm that this is happening because our quality of life is going to go down because of these cuts." Saturday's march comes as the Trump administration has increased the presence of the U.S. military into the El Paso community. The Pentagon extended a border military zone into the El Paso area Friday, May 2. The new militarized zone permits active duty military personnel to arrest migrants who illegally cross the southern border with Mexico. More: Congressional Democrats demand answers as Trump reverses revoking of student visas The marchers rejected this militarization and criminalization of the Borderland. "Our community has been subjected to massive militarization," García said. "Trump just extended the militarization to El Paso. This administration is treating us as criminals. We are members of this society. Both immigrant and non-immigrant are under attack, denying our basic due process, our access to education, and health care." Jeff Abbott covers the border for The El Paso Times and can be reached at:jdabbott@ @palabrasdeabajo on Twitter or @ on Bluesky. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Pasoans march to defend rights and dignity amidst militarization
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Border Network for Human Rights holds march, rally in Downtown El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Dozens of community organizations, faith leaders and advocates filled San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso for the 'Reclaiming Our Dignity and Rights: Community Mobilization' march on Saturday, May 3. According to the news release by the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR), the march 'marks the kickoff of the Second Journeys of Resistance, a statewide initiative to reclaim the dignity and rights of marginalized communities across Texas.' The Border Network for Human Rights organized the event. The organization bills itself as one of the leading human rights advocacy and immigration reform organizations in the country with over 7,000 members in West Texas and Southern New Mexico. 'At a time of growing militarization of border communities, expanding poverty, attacks on public education, health care, and housing, and the ongoing criminalization and dehumanization of immigrants, Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, disabled, and working-class communities, El Paso will rise to declare: We Are America,' BNHR said in a news release. The march began at the corner of Father Rham and El Paso Street and ended at San Jacinto Plaza with a rally, according to the BNHR. 'This mobilization is a public affirmation that, as border militarization expands under the false guise of security, and as families continue to be torn apart, our communities will stand united to proclaim a bold truth: We All Are America,' Fernando García, executive director of BNHR, said. According to the BNHR, the march is in collaboration with Border Workers United, Abara, Border Agricultural Workers Project, Texas Rising El Paso, La Mujer Obrera/Familias Unidas del Chamizal, Prince of Peace Christian Fellowship, Spirit of the Lord Ministries, El Paso Teachers Association, Central Labor Union of El Paso, SEIU, and Common Defense-Latine Veterans Caucus. 'We will lift up the histories that define us, name the injustices that continue to wound us, and reclaim the dignity and rights that belong to every member of our communities,' García said. We have reached out to the Republican Party of El Paso for a comment on this march and rally. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Hate will never overcome love': El Paso Walmart shooting memorials keep memory alive
The mass shooting that killed 23 people at a Walmart store in El Paso near Cielo Vista Mall on Aug. 3, 2019, left an indelible mark in the collective memory of this Borderland community. El Paso has not forgotten, and likely will never forget, the racially-motivated massacre, which also impacted the greater Mexican American community nationwide. The Walmart mass shooting is considered the deadliest U.S. domestic terror attack on Latinos in modern times. Annual remembrances and permanent public memorials at three locations continue the sentiment of "El Paso Strong" years after the tragedy. The outpouring of sadness, unity and resiliency was indisputable from the first temporary makeshift memorial overflowing with flowers, religious candles, teddy bears, artwork and notes of condolences and community solidarity in English and Spanish covering nearly a block behind the Walmart store. The makeshift memorial — featuring the flags of U.S., Mexico and Texas — was a hub of grieving. It was lined with white crosses built by Illinois carpenter Greg Zanis, who was known as "The Cross Man" for delivering over 26,000 personalized crosses to the sites of mass shootings and disasters across the United States. Zanis died of bladder cancer in 2020. Thousands of cell phone lights shone like stars at the public memorial ceremony on Aug. 14, 2019, attended by residents and dignitaries, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Chihuahua Gov. Javier Corral, at Southwest University Park in Downtown El Paso. "We reassure that hate will never overcome love. Hate will not overcome who we are," El Paso Mayor Dee Margo said at the ceremony. Nearly 5,000 residents attended the baseball stadium ceremony while another 400 watched a simulcast on the Ponder Park Little League baseball field at the park about a block north of the Walmart store before people left early as a dust storm blew into the city. The "Grand Candela," a 30-foot tall candle-like memorial made of 22 individual gold-colored perforated aluminum arcs (the 23rd victim of the shooting died later), was dedicated on Nov. 23, 2019, in the south part of the Walmart parking lot at 7101 Gateway West Blvd. The Healing Garden memorial at Ascarate Park was dedicated in 2021 on the second anniversary of the Walmart massacre in a ceremony including Mexico's top diplomat, Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and comedian George Lopez. The El Paso County memorial features plaques with the names of each of the 23 victims in an illuminated half circle, each with a beam of light rising into the night sky. Ponder Park, located across Viscount Boulevard about a block north of the Walmart, has been the site of annual "El Paso Firme" processions against racism, remembrances and a memorial site since the attack. "This was an attack against the heart of our community," Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights immigrant advocacy group said at a remembrance in 2023. "Let's not forget about it. It's racism, xenophobia and white supremacism." In 2024, the permanent "August 3rd Memorial" by El Paso-based artist Albert "Tino" Ortega was unveiled on the anniversary. The granite memorial consists of seven pillars in a circle bearing the victims' names over a mandala design symbolizing harmony, interconnectivity and unity. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso Walmart shooting memorials keep love alive
Int'l Business Times
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Texas Activist Launch Campaign to 'Resist' The Militarization of U.S.-Mexico Border
Activists and community leaders in several Texas cities near the U.S.-Mexico border are planning to launch a campaign to show their discontent with the growing presence of military personnel at the Texas-Mexico section of the border. Labelled as a public engagement campaign, the so-called Texas Community Resiliency Agenda campaign comes in response to the recent deployment of thousands of active-duty troops to the border, as well as a Trump administration push for local government to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. For two weeks, the "Journeys of Resistance" marches and community meetings will be held in the cities of El Paso, Laredo, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and Austin between May 3-17, as highlighted by Border Report . As part of the campaign, activists are also developing a database to document abuse and demand accountability from government agencies. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14167, which gave the military a newly defined role in protecting the "territorial integrity" of the United States by sealing the southern border and repelling what he described as an "invasion" of unlawful migrants. This followed his proclamation of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border on the same day. Since then, Trump has escalated his rhetoric and policy initiatives aimed at curbing immigration through militarized enforcement, bypassing traditional civilian immigration agencies. "It's not only enough to have police departments and the state police, now we're seeing an expansive militarization of our communities," said Fernando Garcia, an executive director for the Border Network for Human Rights while presenting the campaign. "It's the mentality that people of color are the enemy, that immigrants are an invasion," Garcia added. Under the slogan "reclaiming our dignity and rights," organizers such as Lupita Sanchez of Border Workers United in Weslaco, Texas, hopes the campaign will inform the community of their constitutional rights regardless of immigration status. Sanchez said adults no longer feel comfortable walking their children to school and some have even stopped doing activities outside of their homes, such as essential grocery shopping, due to fear of running into immigration agents. "Law enforcement cannot function effectively without the trust of the people they serve," Sanchez said. "When communities are informed and not afraid, they are more likely to support law enforcement efforts," the activist added. In the past, other activist groups such as El Paso-based Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR) have launched similar campaigns. Last year, a series of marches and protests were organized by the group in an effort to raise awareness to repel Senate Bill 4, a law signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023 that makes it a state crime to cross the U.S.-Mexico border through Texas illegal, empowering state and local law enforcement to arrest people suspected of crossing into the U.S illegally. Originally published on Latin Times Mexico United States Immigration
