Asylum-seekers in Mexico get video access to attorneys in U.S.
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Faced with a rising humanitarian crisis, immigrant rights organizations from both sides of the border on Tuesday launched a pilot program to create a virtual bridge aimed at providing legal aid to thousands of asylum-seekers forced to wait in Mexico.
The program, Puentes Libres, or Free Bridges, spearheaded by Texas state Sen. Jose Rodriguez and Juarez Mayor Armando Cabada, will help migrants awaiting the outcome of their U.S. asylum cases consult with U.S.-based lawyers via teleconferencing.
Organizers hope the program will serve as a model for other border communities, where close to 60,000 migrants are stuck in Mexico waiting for their cases to go through U.S. immigration courts because of recent Trump administration policies. By waiting in Mexican border communities — often the most dangerous cities in Mexico — the vast majority of migrants have mostly been cut off from legal representation. Access to attorneys has been difficult at best.
Remain in Mexico, otherwise known as the Migration Protection Protocols, is part of the Trump administration’s goal of reducing access to the nation’s asylum system, where government officials have said migrants are exploiting a broken immigration system to enter the U.S. and work while their cases often take years to wind their way through the U.S. courts.
Asylum is a legal protection that’s offered to anyone fleeing political, religious or other persecution in their home countries.
“We hope to once again respond to the cruel policies promoted by a draconian federal regime that’s punishing vulnerable migrants,” said Rodriguez, D-El Paso, a longtime immigrant rights defender who is retiring as senator this year. “As the Trump administration promotes policies that endanger refugees, this border community continues to respond on both sides of the border with compassion, commitment and now innovation driven by an unbreakable bond that transcends barriers.”
Cabada, whose city has become a dumping ground for migrants, added, “This program will bring migrants closer to reaching their dream, their American Dream.”
The program is a partnership between organizations like the Hispanic Federation, which is providing 50 computers for teleconferencing efforts, the Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center, Diocesan Migrant & Refugee Services and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Pro bono lawyers are being solicited and trained for legal advice.
The program, which has the support of federal and local immigration agencies in Mexico, will be housed at the Juarez City Hall and in at least one shelter in the city.
“There are many attorneys who want to help out, they want to give their time, but they’re coming from all over the states,” said Stephanie Gomez, director of Immigration Initiatives for the Hispanic Federation, a New York City-based nonprofit organization. “It’s hard for them to make the time to come down to the border so how do we bridge that? … The idea is to connect them virtually.”
Juarez alone accounts for about 16,000 asylum-seekers. Less than 2% have legal help, said Nicolas Palazzo, staff attorney at Las Americas, who spends much of his time providing assistance to migrants in this long-troubled city where violence reached new levels in 2019.
“It’s rare when I come across a client of mine who hasn’t been a victim of some form of crime, extortion, kidnapping,” he said. “This is a very particularly vulnerable group of people.”
The pilot program will not only provide legal assistance, he said, but also give a voice to migrants whose hardships are not known on the U.S. side of the border.
“There’s very little understanding on the other side of the border about what is going on,” he said. “Out of sight, out of mind.”
El Paso-Juarez has been the epicenter of the Trump administration’s harshest immigration policies, which have included family separations, tent cities for teens and thousands of asylum-seekers — including Mexicans — forced to wait indefinitely. In addition to being exposed to Mexico’s rampant cartel violence, the binational community became the target of a white supremacist who drove from North Texas to El Paso to “shoot Mexicans” and stop the “Hispanic invasion of Texas” on Aug. 3.
With the 2020 elections looming, nonprofits and local political leaders on both sides of the border remain wary of the difficult months ahead. Many expect border communities to be an even bigger target of President Donald Trump’s harsh rhetoric.
Already, the administration is sending asylum-seekers to a so-called safe third country, crime-ridden Guatemala, to seek refuge there without informing the migrants where they’re headed and without providing them with basic information on what to do, according to immigrant advocates.
According to The Washington Post, Trump is also preparing to divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year.
“Having already witnessed the cruelty on the border from the Trump administration, we’re bracing for the worst — the worst is yet to come,” said Linda Rivas, executive director of Las Americas. “With the latest move (the third country agreement) we’re completely cut off the process, all communication is lost with refugee seekers. This is so frustrating. You wonder, ‘Why does he even need a wall?’”
Palazzo pointed to the architect of Trump’s harsh immigration policies, saying White House political adviser Stephen Miller “did a really good job designing this. I have to give him credit. He essentially built the most effective wall without building a foot of the actual wall.”
As he spoke, Mirta Matilde
Alvarez, 57, and her husband, Ramon Piñiero Alvarez, 67, both from Cuba, logged on to a computer to start the process of learning how to seek legal help. They have been in Juarez for nine months without any legal assistance.
“This gives us hope,” said Alvarez, a faint smile on her face.
Piñiero’s voice cracked when he referred to the possibility of being deported back to Cuba, which he likened to “going back to prison.”