Texas Envía 1000 Soldados A La Frontera Para Combatir El Cruce Ilegal De Migrantes

El gobernador de Texas, Greg Abbott, anunció que enviará aproximadamente 1,000 soldados de la Guardia Nacional de Texas a la frontera del suroeste para respaldar a la patrulla fronteriza y aduanera de los Estados Unidos en respuesta al aumento de cruces de migrantes que ha generado una crisis humanitaria y de seguridad en la frontera. 

Estas tropas proporcionarán apoyo de personal en las instalaciones de detención temporal, y en los puertos de entrada a lo largo de la frontera. 

"La crisis en nuestra frontera sur es diferente a todo lo que hemos visto antes y ha generado un gasto en los recursos existentes que tenemos", dijo el gobernador Abbott. "Con el despliegue de estas tropas, estamos tomando medidas para enfrentar el Crisis en la frontera y mantener a los delincuentes potencialmente peligrosos y las actividades ilegales fuera de nuestras comunidades. Al trabajar junto con nuestros oficiales federales, continuaremos buscando una estrategia sólida y completa para asegurar nuestra frontera ". 

"En el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos (DHS), tenemos una larga historia trabajando estrechamente con nuestros socios en Texas, con el propósito común de mantener la seguridad de los Estados Unidos ", dijo el Secretario Interino del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, Kevin K. McAleenan. “Si bien estamos haciendo todo lo posible para manejar la crisis, el volumen de la población vulnerable que llegan todos los días es simplemente insostenible. El despliegue del personal de la Guardia Nacional de Texas brinda apoyo a nuestros agentes en la frontera en un momento crítico ". 

Este esfuerzo ayudará a abordar la crisis humanitaria en nuestra frontera, así como a aumentar la seguridad fronteriza para las comunidades de Texas, dado que en las últimas tres semanas, más de 45,000 personas han sido detenidas en Texas cruzando ilegalmente la frontera. Actualmente, entre el 40 y el 60 por ciento de los agentes de la Patrulla Fronteriza se están retirando de su misión de seguridad fronteriza para brindar apoyo humanitario, en lugar de trabajar en la línea del frente de seguridad para evitar que las drogas, los pandilleros y los delincuentes peligrosos ingresen a nuestro país. 

El despliegue de tropas adicionales de la Guardia Nacional consolidará las operaciones de control y seguridad que la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza de los Estados Unidos (CBP) estableció en los nuevos centros de detención temporal en el Paso y en el Valle del Río Grande para quienes cruzan la frontera ilegalmente, mientras esperan la transferencia al Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los Estados Unidos (ICE). 

Con las instalaciones del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos (DHS), en su capacidad máxima y el rápido crecimiento del flujo de migrantes que ingresan a los Estados Unidos a través de la frontera sur, se están agotando los recursos del DHS amenazando vidas en ambos lados de la frontera, incluidas las familias desfavorecidas y los niños en riesgo por el peligroso viaje a los Estados Unidos. 

El 1 de mayo, la Administración solicitó $ 4.5 mil millones en asignaciones de emergencia para abordar la crisis humanitaria inmediata en nuestra frontera suroeste, de los cuales $ 1.1 mil millones respaldarían los esfuerzos del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos (DHS), han pasado siete semanas desde que la Administración solicitó fondos suplementarios y el Congreso aún no ha actuado. 

Fuente: Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los Estados Unidos (DHS) 

https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4255-envian-soldados-para-afrontar-crisis-en-la-frontera.html

Bebe De Cuatro Meses Fue Separado De Sus Padres En Estados Unidos, Y Llevado Ante Juez De Inmigración

Un nuevo informe del periódico The New York Times reveló que el niño más pequeño que fue arrancado de su familia después de emigrar a Estados Unidos por la frontera sur fue un bebé de cuatro meses. El niño se llama Constantin Mutu, y fue detenido por funcionarios de Estados Unidos bajo la política de separación familiar de “tolerancia cero” del presidente Donald Trump y fue enviado a un hogar de acogida en Michigan.

Su padre fue encarcelado en una prisión para inmigrantes antes de ser deportado a su nativa Rumania, aunque según cuenta su padre los agentes le hicieron la oferta que si retiraba la petición de asilo podría regresar a su país junto con su bebe, el padre firmo y salió del centro de detención el 3 de junio de 2018, sin embargo nunca le entregaron al bebe. 

La familia que acogió a Constantin mantuvo constante comunicación con la madre del bebe, a la que informaba de su situación y evolución. Constantil tenía 8 meses cuando fue llevado al juzgado para la audiencia ante el juez de inmigración, allí el juez ordeno al gobierno de Estados Unidos devolver al bebe a su país y pagar el respectivo vuelo de regreso. 

Constantin regreso a su país a los nueve meses, sin embargo ha mostrado signos de problemas emocionales y de desarrollo. Sus padres dicen que, a los 20 meses de edad, todavía no camina ni habla por esta razón y por todos los daños causados la familia ha iniciado una demanda contra el gobierno de los Estados Unidos.

 

Fuente: www.democracynow.org  

https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4248-bebe-separado-se-sus-padres-y-llevado-ante-juez-de-inmigracion.html

Las Familias Inmigrantes Ilegales En Estados Unidos

La política de Donald Trump destruye a familias enteras. José experimentó las consecuencias de las promesas electorales de Trump, a pesar de vivir durante décadas como ciudadano estadounidense. 

Rose era feliz. Tenía un marido al que amaba, dos hijos, una casa y un trabajo. Todo parecía perfecto. Hasta el día en que su esposo José, que llegó ilegalmente de niño desde El Salvador, fue arrestado por las autoridades estadounidenses y deportado. 

Rose Escobar todavía no puede creer que el gobierno de los Estados Unidos destrozara su familia. "¡Este también es mi país! Siempre hemos respetado las leyes". 

Rose nació en los Estados Unidos, pero su esposo vino ilegalmente desde El Salvador, hace décadas cuando aún era un niño. En un control de tráfico fue arrestado e inmediatamente deportado. Rose y sus dos hijos se quedaron solos. 

La madre ahora tiene que sacar adelante ella sola a sus hijos, dejándolos bajo el cuidado de los vecinos cuando tiene que ir a trabajar. "Me levanto todos los días a las cuatro de la mañana y dejo a los niños con mis vecinos. Luego trabajo doce horas, llego a casa, recojo a los niños, hago las tareas con ellos y la comida, preparo sus sándwiches para la escuela y su ropa. 

Trato de hacerlo todo como siempre, para que no sientan ninguna diferencia". Su esposo fue una de las primeras personas en ser deportadas de los Estados Unidos bajo el nuevo presidente. Donald Trump pretendía demostrar su fuerza y mantener su promesa electoral de enviar a los inmigrantes ilegales al otro lado de la frontera, a su lugar de origen. Se pensaba que la medida afectaría a inmigrantes que habían quebrantado la ley, criminales, miembros de pandillas. Pero, ¿padres de familia? Para Rose Escobar hoy nada es como antes.

Fuente: YouTube DW Documental 

https://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4075-separacion-de-familias-la-politica-de-EstadosUnidos.html

Padres Centroamericanos Deportados Solicitan Ser Reunidos Con Sus Hijos

Un grupo de 29 padres centroamericanos ingresaron el sábado a Estados Unidos por la frontera con México y están siendo procesados por funcionarios de inmigración luego de que el grupo solicitara reunirse con sus hijos, que se encuentran en Estados Unidos. 

Los padres, procedentes de Honduras, Guatemala y El Salvador, fueron separados de sus hijos el año pasado debido a la política de separación familiar establecida por el Gobierno encabezado por el presidente Donald Trump, y luego fueron deportados a sus países de origen. 

Las familias solicitan ser reunidas y que sus solicitudes de asilo sean reconsideradas. Los padres fueron acompañados por líderes religiosos y agrupaciones en favor de los derechos de los inmigrantes, quienes les brindan servicios legales. Estas son las palabras de uno de los padres del grupo, originario de Honduras.

Oscar Santiago Vindel Sevilla: “Mi hijo está en un centro de detención en Texas. Ha estado detenido allí, en un hogar de acogida, durante once meses y no han podido entregarlo porque mi sobrino (que vive en Estados Unidos) no tiene sus documentos en orden. Es por eso”. 

bq. Periodista: “Existe el riesgo de que lo detengan en Estados Unidos. ¿Vale la pena correrlo?”. 

Oscar Santiago Vindel Sevilla : “Todos corremos ese riesgo, pero haríamos cualquier cosa por nuestros hijos”. 

Fuente: www.democracynow.org

http://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a4041-padres-solicitan-ser-reunidos-con-sus-hijos.html

Bebé Inmigrante Separada De Sus Padres Muere Después De Ser Liberada Por ICE

En el sur del estado de Texas, en Estados Unidos, la Asociación Estadounidense de Abogados de Inmigración informó que una bebé inmigrante que fue separada de su familia como parte de la política fronteriza de “tolerancia cero” del presidente Donald Trump, murió poco después de ser liberada del Centro de Detención Familiar Dilley. 

La abogada residente en Houston Mana Yegani publicó en Twitter: “La niña murió después de su estadía en un centro de detención del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas [ICE, por sus siglas en inglés], como resultado de una posible negligencia y de una enfermedad respiratoria que contrajo al contagiarse de uno de los otros menores internados”. 

El año pasado, abogados de la Unión Estadounidense por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, por sus siglas en inglés) y otros grupos demandaron al Servicio de Inmigración, alegando que había violado su propia política al detener a mujeres embarazadas en Dilley y en otros cuatro cárceles para inmigrantes. 

Esta muerte se produjo en un momento en que alrededor de 700 menores que fueron separados por la fuerza de sus padres en la frontera sur de Estados Unidos aún no se han reunido con ellos. 

 

Fuente: www.democracynow.org 

http://www.inmigracionyvisas.com/a3867-muere-bebe-inmigrantes-separada-de-sus-padres.html 

La Separación De Los Niños Migrantes De Sus Padres en Estados Unidos

Dianne Feinstein, senadora demócrata por el estado de California, presentará un proyecto de ley que se propone poner fin a la práctica del gobierno Estados Unidos, encabezado por el presidente Donald Trump, de separar a los niños inmigrantes de sus padres. 

La propuesta de legislar en ese sentido se produce menos de un mes después de que el fiscal general Jeff Sessions emitiera la siguiente amenaza a los migrantes que cruzan la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos. 

Jeff Sessions declaró: “Quien ingrese ilegalmente con un niño será enjuiciado y podrían separarlo del niño, tal como lo exige la ley”. 

Desde entonces, los informes de bebés arrancados de los brazos de sus madres por los agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas han provocado indignación y la exhortación generalizada a poner fin a dicha práctica. 

Los inmigrantes enfrentan juicios masivos y separación de los miembros de las familias en la frontera entre México y EE.UU., en momentos en que el Gobierno estadounidense implementa políticas de “tolerancia cero” con las personas que tratan de ingresar a Estados Unidos. 

Los juicios masivos por cruzar la frontera y algunos casos dispersos de separación de miembros de las familias ocurren desde que se introdujo la medida “Operation streamline” en el año 2005. Pero el mes pasado, el fiscal general, Jeff Sessions, anunció que el Gobierno federal ahora procesará “el cien por ciento de los cruces ilegales de la frontera sudoeste”. 

En el estado de Texas, el domingo se le prohibió la entrada a un centro de detención para niños inmigrantes al senador demócrata de Oregón Jeff Merkley. El legislador había viajado hasta el centro, ubicado en la ciudad de Brownsville, en un edificio donde antes funcionaba una tienda de Walmart, para presenciar de primera mano la práctica del gobierno del presidente Donald Trump de separar a los niños inmigrantes de sus padres. 

Según se informó, las autoridades federales han separado, como mínimo, a 600 niños inmigrantes de sus padres el mes pasado, lo que provocó una indignación generalizada y la condena internacional. 

Para saber más de este tema, puede ver la entrevista que hiciera democracynow a Debbie Nathan una periodista independiente, que ha publicado un informe para el sitio The Intercept que se titula “Hidden Horrors of 'Zero Tolerance'—Mass Trials and Children Taken from Their Parents” (Lo horrores ocultos de la ‘tolerancia cero’. Juicios masivos y separación de padres e hijos). 

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González. 

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: We turn now to the U.S.-Mexico border, where a reporter obtained a recording of immigrant parents who have been separated from their children. The audio is from a mass trial of dozens of immigrants in a courtroom in Brownsville, Texas. Standing shoulder to shoulder, men and women, in shackles, plead guilty to the crime of illegal entry during a mass trial. If you listen closely, you can hear the clinking of their chains as Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan asks a man if he would like to say anything before he is sentenced. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: Anything else you wish to say then before sentence? 

UNIDENTIFED DEFENDANT: No. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: OK. Mr. Hernández-Rodríguez, anything you with to say before sentence? 

MR. HERNÁNDEZ-RODRÍGUEZ: Sí. También sobre mi hijo ¿yo lo traigo conmigo? Aquí me lo separaron. 

TRANSLATOR: Also, I was bringing my child with me, and we got separated. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: OK. Like I just told Mr. Hernández-López, my understanding, the way it’s supposed to work, is because you’re from a country other than Mexico, you’re going to be sent to a camp, and you’re going to be sent to a camp where your child will be allowed to join you. That’s my understanding of how it’s supposed to work. You understand that? 

MR. HERNÁNDEZ-RODRÍGUEZ: Sí. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: How old is your child? 

MR. HERNÁNDEZ-RODRÍGUEZ: Seis años. 

TRANSLATOR: Six years. 

MR. HERNÁNDEZ-RODRÍGUEZ: Me preocupo bastante porque se me duele no saber si me van a dejar aquí a donde me van a mandar. 

TRANSLATOR: I’m very worried—

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: Yeah, I understand. 

TRANSLATOR: —because they may leave him here, and then I’m going to get deported. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: Well, you’re supposed to be joined with your child before you are deported. I think, Mr. Hernández-López, let me just tell you, the theory is that’s going to keep you from coming to this country. 

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That audio of Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan’s courtroom in Brownsville, Texas, is from a report for The Intercept by Debbie Nathan headlined “Hidden Horrors of 'Zero Tolerance'—Mass Trials and Children Taken from Their Parents.” The story also features a rare photograph from inside a federal courthouse in Pecos, Texas, that shows dozens of immigrants in orange jumpsuits spread across a courtroom and filling up a jury box as they are all tried at once. 

AMY GOODMAN: Mass trials for crossing the border, scattered cases of family separations, have taken place since “Operation Streamline” was first introduced in 2005. But last month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the federal government will now prosecute, quote, “100 percent of illegal southwest border crossings.” 

ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS: I have put in place a zero-tolerance policy for illegal entry on our Southwest border. If you cross the border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It’s that simple. If you smuggle illegal aliens across our border, then we will prosecute you. If you are smuggling a child, then we will prosecute you, and that child may be separated from you, as required by law. 

AMY GOODMAN: Well, for more on this new policy, how it’s unfolding, we go to Austin, Texas, where we’re joined by Debbie Nathan, independent journalist, usually based in Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexico border. Her new report for The Intercept, “Hidden Horrors of 'Zero Tolerance'—Mass Trials and Children Taken from Their Parents.” She’s been on the ground reporting on what she calls “zero tolerance factories.” 

Describe what you saw, Debbie. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: I’ve been to several of these trials. I’ve been in Brownsville, Laredo and El Paso. And what you see is somewhere between 20 and 40-something people, all triple-shackled, not to each other but individually, their hands in handcuffs chained to their waists, and their feet shackled. And they clunk and clang into court. I mean, there’s this clanging sound of chains. And they go through these mass processes in less than an hour, usually. And they often—they are instructed to answer in groups or answer en masse. So you’ll hear like 40 people being asked a question, and they’ll say, ”Sí,” all at once, or they’ll say, “No.” And it’s just—it’s really uncanny. It’s shocking. It doesn’t feel like due process. One after one after one after one after one, with only one lawyer, they plead guilty: ”Culpable,” ”culpable,” ”culpable,” ”culpable.” I mean, it’s just—it just feels like something out—I mean, the photo itself, added to the sounds, really makes you think of something like Abu Ghraib, except that it’s completely legal in this country now to do this to people. It’s just quite shocking to see. 

And, you know, very few people go to see it, which I think is another reason why it’s happening on the border and with so little oversight. I’ve had trouble getting into courtrooms. I go to get into the federal building, and I’m told, “No, the judge said that the courtroom is too crowded. Nobody can go in except for Border Patrol agents and lawyers.” And I’ve had to argue to get in, even after I’ve said I was a reporter. So, people don’t see these proceedings. And people are afraid to argue, actually. So, the fact that this photo was taken is actually very remarkable. The defense bar that I spoke with in that area—that’s the Western District of Texas—said that they think that it was a marshall who took it. Somebody inside the court secretly took it, probably. And my experience, hanging around these courtrooms and talking to people and even having a little bit of whistleblower effect, is that there are a lot of people inside these courtrooms or inside these courthouses who are not comfortable with what’s going on. In fact, if you can—if we were able to continue to listen to the judge in that tape, he even starts to feel real anxiety, expresses anxiety about the fact that maybe it’s not true that people are being reunited in these camps—

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Debbie, if we can, let’s go—

DEBBIE NATHAN: —as he calls them, with their children, which is not true. And he actually goes on—

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Debbie, if we can—

DEBBIE NATHAN: —to say to the assistant U.S. attorney, “If this is not true, if you’re not reuniting these children, then we can imagine the hell that’s being created.” So, the judge—I mean, there are so many people who are not comfortable with what’s going on. 

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, if we can, let’s go to the audio recording you obtained from the Brownsville, Texas, courtroom of Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan, as he’s presiding over the mass trial of these folks who were apprehended at the border. This was in late April, and this begins with Judge Morgan offering another defendant the chance to address him before she was sentenced. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: Ms. Díaz-Castro, anything you’d like to say before sentencing? 

MS. DÍAZ-CASTRO: En el mismo caso de ellos, de mi hija, sólo que no me la separaron, pero me dijeron que sí me la van a quitar. 

TRANSLATOR: The same case as theirs, only they haven’t separated me from my daughter, but they told me they were going to take her away. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: Well, let’s hope they don’t. You and your daughter, you should be joined together. Let me just ask, Ms. D’Andrea, my understanding is, is that when there is parent and child, the parent and child are supposed to be joined before they are separated and sent home. Is that correct? 

MS. D’ANDREA: That’s what I’ve heard, Your Honor, as well. 

JUDGE RONALD MORGAN: I’ll tell you what: If it’s not, then there are a lot of folks have some answering to do, because what you’ve done, in effect, by separating these children is you’re putting them someplace without their parent. You can imagine there’s a hell, and that’s probably what it looks like. You’d best confirm that’s the case. You’d best make sure that’s the case. 

MS. D’ANDREA: Yes, Your Honor. 

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Again, that was Federal Magistrate Judge Ronald Morgan speaking in his Brownsville, Texas, courtroom in late April, in this audio that Debbie Nathan obtained for her report in The Intercept. Debbie, this whole issue of lawyers, one lawyer representing 30, 40, 50 people? Obviously, they can’t have much in terms of individual information about that particular person on what might have driven them to try to cross the border to begin with. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: Yeah. What I’ve heard is that they’re getting somewhere between seven and 10 minutes of counsel right before the proceedings. And, you know, I’ve talked to public defenders who try very, very hard to get information that would be helpful to the—to the—I was going to say “client,” but to the defendant, for example, who really make an effort to find out whether they crossed with their children and whether they have a claim, a credible fear claim, that would allow them to, later in the process, claim asylum. But it seems so inconsistent. Like I was in court in El Paso last week, and there were 60 defendants, and they were split into 20—into three groups of 20. And so, each group of 20 had a lawyer. And I interviewed one lawyer who told me that, of his 20, not one of them had been separated from a child, and not one of them had an asylum claim or a credible fear claim. So, then, in the third group, I was able to interview the attorney, who spoke Spanish, unlike the first one, and seemed very concerned about the immigration issues. And he told me that, of the 20 that I saw him representing, 10 of them had been separated from a total of 15 children, including one woman who was separated from three children. And, you know, he obtained that information by just really speaking with these people. So, you get the feeling that the legal representation, as short as it is, as few minutes as it is, also depends on whether the lawyers even care, you know, to find out what’s going on. 

AMY GOODMAN: You know, in also where you are, where you usually work, in Brownsville, Oregon Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley was barred from entering a detention center, which was an old Walmart—it’s a detention center for immigrant children—just Sunday, after traveling to the center to see firsthand the Trump administration’s practice of separating immigrant children from their parents. He tweeted, “I was barred entry. Asked repeatedly to speak to a supervisor—he finally came out and said he can’t tell us anything. Police were called on us. Children should never be ripped from their families & held in secretive detention centers,” he tweeted. Federal authorities reportedly separating at least 600 immigrant children from their parents last month, sparking widespread outrage and international condemnation. Even a U.S. senator is being escorted away by police, not allowed to go into the old Walmart where children are being held, that we are paying for, Debbie. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: Yeah, I wasn’t surprised. It was, you know, sort of the same experience, only in spades, of what I’ve had when I’ve tried to go into court. It seems like everybody is just being treated like some bum that knocks on the door, you know, like, “What are you doing here? And, you know, we’re going to call the cops on you.” I mean, it was, in a way, shocking to see him treated that way. I saw the video yesterday. But it wasn’t surprising to me. Nobody can get in there. 

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Debbie, I want to turn to an interview you did with migrants you met in Mexico, just across the border from El Paso. This clip, from a video you posted on Twitter this weekend, begins with you asking the migrants if they tried to cross the bridge to the United States at that port of entry. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: [translated] Did you try to cross the bridge? 

CHICO: [translated] Yes. We want to cross the bridge, but they do not allow us. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: [translated] What happened when you tried to cross? 

CHICO: [translated] We wanted to seek help, to enter the U.S. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: [translated] What’s your name? 

CHICO: [translated] My name is Chico. 

MIGRANT 1: [translated] We want to enter the United States because we want to find a job. We have debts. We owe a lot, because we are far from our country. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: [translated] What will happen to you if—do you fear violence there? 

MIGRANT 2: [translated] Yes, of course. If we do not pay our debts, the money we owe, they will threaten or kill us. 

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: So, Debbie, could you explain? These are the U.S. agents crossing—are they crossing into Mexico before even the border crossings point that the migrants would try to get through? 

DEBBIE NATHAN: So, traditionally, you go to the port of entry, and you—which is this big building at the bottom, you know, in Brownsville. It’s the big curved bridge. You go to the bottom of the bridge to the U.S. side, to the port of entry, and you tell the agents that want to request asylum. And that is your legal right. You’re in the United States at that point, and you request asylum. 

So, what’s been happening up and down the border is—and this has been going on probably for at least a year and a half, that I’m aware of, anyway—is that they’re putting agents up at the top of the bridge, because, you know, there’s sort of an invisible line, which is often marked with a plaque, but there’s a line dividing the United States and Mexico. So, they want—what the government wants at this point is for people not to be able to step into the United States at that invisible line, because then they can’t apply for asylum. And so they’ve got these agents at the top of the bridge, and they’re standing there. And they’re asking everybody who they’re suspicious about—you know, and suspicious of not—you know, of maybe they’re going to apply for asylum, but asking people for their documents. And then they won’t let people go into the United States. So, I mean, it’s almost like they’re not even in Mexico. Technically, they’re in Mexico, but they’re like six inches from the United States. And that’s illegal. I mean, that’s against American law, and it’s against international law. But that’s what’s happening up and down the border. And that’s what I observed when I was in El Paso last week. 

And I interviewed those people who had been turned back. They had already been turned back about three times and told, “Oh, come back like—come back at 10:00 tonight, or come back at 6:00 in the morning. We don’t have room for you now.” So they were camped out in front of a bathroom at the bottom of the bridge, which is the Mexico side. And, you know, again, incredibly upsetting to see them really looking hungry and looking exhausted and weeping and telling me that they have, multiple times, tried to get in, get past these agents, and that they were not able to. 

AMY GOODMAN: Debbie Nathan, you also have a new report out for The Interceptthat’s headlined “Border Patrol Continues to Exaggerate Danger to Agents to Justify Violence Against Immigrants.” I want to ask you about this and how it relates to the Border Patrol officer who just shot dead, shot through the head, the 19-year old indigenous Guatemalan woman Claudia Gómez, killing her, this in Rio Bravo, Texas. Video of the aftermath of the killing shows Border Patrol agents sealing off the scene and detaining at least two people. The agents first claimed the officer fired in self-defense after officers were attacked by blunt objects. The family of Claudia Gómez González said she set off for a better life in the United States despite what they had heard about tougher policies towards undocumented immigrants under Donald Trump. This is Gómez’s mother, Lidia González. 

LIDIA GONZÁLEZ VÁSQUEZ: [translated] “I’m going to achieve something,” she said. “I’ll earn money for my studies,” she said. But, unfortunately, she was unable to do that. Immigration killed my little girl. My little baby! No, no, no. She didn’t go to steal, She’s just gone, my baby. That’s how it is. I just want justice for my girl, because it’s not fair for them to do this. Now, if people are able to help me retrieve my baby’s body as soon as possible, that’s what I want. We can’t do anything else now. She’s dead. She’s dead. 

AMY GOODMAN: So, Debbie Nathan, if you can talk about Border Patrol continuing to exaggerate the danger to agents to justify violence against immigrants, this horrific story about the shooting death of Claudia? 

DEBBIE NATHAN: Yeah. A few months ago, I started investigating the claims the Border Patrol has been making for about, oh, the past several months, that it’s a very dangerous job and that their assault statistics were way, way up from last year. And I got data from the Border Patrol which showed that, in fact, assaults were down and injuries are down, but they were using this accounting method—they were counting in this very strange, unconventional way. And, for example, what I was told from law enforcement people is that, you know, police and law enforcement officials usually—like, if somebody is assaulted, that’s considered one assault. I mean, somebody could throw seven rocks at you, and that would be—and you’re one agent, so that’s counted as one assault. But the Border Patrol was—or still is, I guess—multiplying the number of agents assaulted—and, by the way, an assault doesn’t necessarily cause an injury, and in most cases with the Border Patrol it doesn’t—but multiplying the number of agents assaulted by the number of perpetrators and the number of weapons. So, the example that they gave me was six agents assaulted by seven perpetrators who used a water bottle, a rock and a tree branch. So, when you multiply and multiply and multiply, you get 126 assaults. Conventionally, that would be counted as six assaults. And remember that, actually, the spokesperson did not respond when I asked if any of the agents had been hurt. So, what I found out, as I continued and did the second report, was that injuries are down, according to other methods that you can look at, objective methods to look at injuries in the Border Patrol. 

And the way that this relates to the young woman who was killed is that she was actually killed about a mile from a case that I’m aware of where a very tiny Guatemalan, who looks to me like he was a teenager, was running from Border Patrol agents, I guess in the same way that the woman in this group was running a year later. He was running, and there was a melee that ensued, in which he was accused of assaulting a Border Patrol agent. But he elected to go to trial, or he was put on trial, and he was acquitted. And it was explained to me by the public defenders in the Southern District that their assumption was that the jury just took a look at the size difference between these two people. The agent was this pretty big, burly guy, and the immigrant looked like a little pencil. I mean, he was just this tiny, frail—he probably weighed a hundred pounds, and the agent probably weighed at least 160. So, they just figured that—oh, and plus the immigrant had blood on his ear. His ear was all banged up. And the agent had, I think, like a sprained elbow. So, he was acquitted. But what was interesting to me was that that will go into—that incident, whatever it was about and for which he was acquitted, will go into the statistics as an assault. 

And what’s also very telling to me is that if you listen to the Border Patrol sort of talking to itself, the Border Patrol Council, which is their union, has a podcast, which is sponsored by Breitbart, where the hosts sit there and they talk about—you know, they’re very anti-immigrant and very sort of feeling sorry for themselves. There’s one particular podcast, that anybody can listen to, where they say, “You know, we’ve just had enough of these assaults, and we should be allowed to respond. We should be allowed to use more force. And we should be allowed to”— 

AMY GOODMAN: Debbie, we have five seconds. 

DEBBIE NATHAN: Mm-hmm. “And we should basically be allowed to beat people up.” That’s what they say. 

AMY GOODMAN: Debbie Nathan, we want to thank you for being with us. Thank you for all your work on the border, as you work from Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexico border. We’ll link to your pieces in The Intercept, “Hidden Horrors of 'Zero Tolerance'—Mass Trials and Children Taken from Their Parents,” as well as the pieceyou just did, “Border Patrol Continues to Exaggerate Danger to Agents to Justify Violence Against Immigrants.” 

When we come back, the Supreme Court ruling in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple, citing his religious opposition. Stay with us. 

Fuente: www.democracynow.org 

http://inmigracionyvisas.com/a3816-separacion-de-padres-e-hijos-migrantes-en-Estados-Unidos.html