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News Article
Migrant Justice Newsletter - April 2024
April 23, 2024

To read the full article: Migrant Justice Newsletter - April 2024 | InterReligious Task Force on Central America (irtfcleveland.org)

Welcome to IRTF’s March 2024 newsletter on Migrant Justice and the current situation at the US-Mexico border. After you’ve looked through the articles, we hope you can take a few minutes to see the TAKE ACTION items at the bottom.

 

In this newsletter, please read about 

1.  Changing Trends in Migrants at US-Mexico Border

2. ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends 

3. Study Reveals: Border Wall Height Exacerbates Trauma Incidents 

4. At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border 

5. Border Patrol and Local Law Enforcement’s Patterns of Abuse in Ohio’s Immigration Enforcement

6. Raising the Credible Fear Screening Standard Will Endanger Lives but Won’t Fix The Border  

7. Children in US-Mexico Border Camps

8. Migrants Mired in Transit as Mexico Becomes US’s Immigration Enforcer

9. Kidnapping of Migrants and Asylum Seekers at Texas-Tamaulipas Border Reaches Intolerable Levels 

10.  Migrant Deaths in New Mexico and Western Texas 

11. Human Rights in the Darién Gap of Panamá

 

TAKE ACTION NOW

Here is what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.)

A) SPEAK UP FOR DEMOCRACY IN EL SALVADOR

B)  SPEAK UP FOR PEOPLE IN HAITI

C) STOP DEPORTATIONS TO HAITI 

D) PROTECT UNACCOMPANIED MINORS

E) VISIT CAPITOL HILL: #ReuniteUS

F) HELP REFUGEES & MIGRANTS IN CLEVELAND

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Please consider supporting IRTF’s Migrant Justice work.

You can DONATE now at IRTFcleveland.org

Venmo @irtfcleveland

PayPal @irtfcleveland

Facebook.com/irtf1981

check:

IRTF, 3606 Bridge Ave., Cleveland OH 44113

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Event
Honduras delegation: Root Causes of Migration
August 1, 2024 to August 10, 2024

Deadline to Apply:
May 1st, 2024
(late applications accepted until delegation is full)

This delegation will  focus on US-backed militarism in Honduras and its negative impact on communities struggling against the climate crisis by contextualizing the root causes of climate migration. Delegates will learn directly from frontline communities and organizations centering the experiences of Indigenous and campesino people who are witnesses and victims of hyper-militarism and who are at risk of being displaced because of climate aggravation. This delegation intends to spread awareness of how militarism exacerbates the climate crisiss which harms the living conditions of Indigenous and campesino communities. Climate and anti-war activists are strongly encouraged to apply, as well as students interested in global human rights and climate migration.

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Event
CPT Colombia Delegations (English Speaking)
July 8, 2024 to July 17, 2024

For more information: https://cpt.org/delegations/colombia

The mining and farming communities of Northeast Antioquia fear a new escalation of violence by different armed groups in their territory. The lack of implementation of the peace agreements signed between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -FARC- in 2016 has created an environment where there is no guarantee for establishing a comprehensive and lasting peace. Faced with the panorama of abandonment, the communities that walk in resistance accompanied by the Corporation for Humanitarian Action and Peaceful Coexistence of Northeast Antioquia – CAHUCOPANA, weave alternatives to war and build paths to move towards peace with social justice.

In this delegation, you will share with communities and grassroots organizations that resist violence and oppression, building peace day by day. You will hear directly about their commitment to a dignified life based on respect for Human Rights, and you will discover how you can be part of the change. (You will also learn how to sleep in a hammock and keep mosquitoes away). It will be a transformative learning experience.

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News Article
Solidarity with El Salvador's Santa Marta 5 Grows Across Borders
May 2, 2024

In a court hearing in San Salvador on April 10, a judge upheld charges against five anti-mining activists known as the Santa Marta Five. The activists, arrested in January 2023, face charges of "illicit association" and an alleged murder dating back to the Salvadoran Civil War. Supporters believe that Bukele's administration targets them for their roles in the country's mining ban. Despite being granted house arrest in August 2023, international support calls for justice, as concerns arise over the motive behind their criminalization and its threat to the mining ban.

The Santa Marta Five, including Teodoro Antonio Pacheco and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega, are esteemed community leaders who fought against the US-backed military dictatorship in the 1980s. They played pivotal roles in rebuilding their community post-civil war and organizing against foreign mining companies in the 2010s, leading to the historic mining ban of 2017. However, their detention under Bukele's administration raises concerns about legal rights.

Bukele's rise to power signifies a shift from the promises of the 1992 peace accords, as his administration undermines democratic principles and human rights. Despite his efforts to combat gang violence, his tactics, including indefinite detention without due process, draw criticism. The state of exception, declared in 2022 and now permanent, suspends civil and political rights, posing a threat to human rights and the rule of law. The broader implications extend to environmental activism and economic interests, overshadowing the fight against gang violence.

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Event
El Salvador: The Implications of The Santa Marta Case Ruling for the Defense of Human Rights in El Salvador
April 11, 2024

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIqc-CvqzkoGtE2ywFFqZQPCO2WHkN...

On Wednesday April 10th, a judge in San Salvador will rule whether five community leaders and water defenders, members of the community of Santa Marta and the ADES Association in Cabañas, El Salvador, should be acquitted or stand trial for an alleged crime that took place 34 year ago in the context of the Salvadorean civil war.Since their detention, in January 2023, hundreds of international organizations and high profile supporters have denounced that their detention is politically motivated given the lack of evidence presented by the Attorney General's office to warrant the charges, the massive violation of legal rights and due process under the current “state of exception” imposed by President Nayib Bukele to combat gangs, and the intention of the Salvadorean government to revert the prohibition on metal mining for which the Water Defenders gained international notoriety in 2017.Please join us for a conversation with the members of the legal defense team, ADES and representtive of international organizations for an update on the case and to discuss the implications of this case in the wider fight for justice and the defense of Human Rights in El Salvador.

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Event
CPT Colombia Delegations (Spanish Speaking)
March 23, 2024 to March 30, 2024
Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) organizes short-term (7-14 day) peacemaker delegations to engage with and learn from partner communities and organizations actively and nonviolently resisting structural, political and physical violence in several locations around the world. CPT Delegations, formed by individuals and groups coming from a variety of contexts, offer participants a first-hand experience of CPT’s on-the-ground experiment in non-violence.
 
Join the Colombia delegation to learn from and share with communities and grassroots organizations that resist violence and oppression and who build peace day by day. You will hear directly from social and land rights activists about their commitment to a dignified life based on respect for Human Rights, and you will be able to discover how you can be part of the change. You will also learn to sleep in a hammock and scare away mosquitoes :). It will be a transformative learning experience.
 
Dates: 
March 23-30 (Spanish Speaking)
July 8-17 (English Speaking)
 
For more information: https://cpt.org/delegations/colombia
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News Article
Guatemala: Our Struggle Is in Defense of Mother Earth and Self-Determination
March 13, 2024

Respect for Indigenous sovereignty and self-government are essential to a future where peoples are not forced to migrate. Will Guatemala’s new government work with communities to make this a reality?

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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Colombia, 3/6.2024
March 6, 2024

In Colombia, the situation for social leaders remains dangerous, with frequent attacks ranging from threats to kidnappings and even death. The recent assassination of Faber de Jesús Rincón Pérez in Yondó, Antioquia, exemplifies this issue. He was ambushed by armed individuals on motorcycles while returning home at 11:40am on February 3. Despite efforts to seek medical help, Faber Rincón Pérez succumbed to four gunshot wounds. Authorities are asked to investigate whether the victim had received prior threats from criminal groups in the area. A reward of 10 million pesos has been offered for information leading to the apprehension of the perpetrators and those behind the murder. Thirty year-old Faber de Jesús Rincón Pérez was recognized for his advocacy for workers' rights in the oil industry through the organization Guardia Obrera.

PDF icon 2024_03_06_infoabe_colombia_letter_with_signatures.pdf
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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Colombia, 3/2/2024
March 2, 2024

Several Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in the Bajo San Juan River region of Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department, have declared themselves as Peace Facilitating Territories. Nevertheless, they are still subject to intimidation and even periods of confinement, primarily due to the presence of the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces (AGC paramilitaries) and the National Liberation Army (ELN rebels) On February 1, armed men entered the Wounaan Indigenous Reserve by boat at Unión San Juan, intimidated community residents, and forced another boat  to take them to Puerto Pizario. There they acquired markers from some shops and proceeded to write the logo and initials of the ELN on some homes in the town.  Another boat picked them up at the pier at 1:00 pm. They fear another period of confinement (and humanitarian crisis) like the one they experienced in February 2023.

PDF icon 2024_03_02_cijp_colombia_letter.pdf
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News Article
Honduras: 100+ organizations demand Honduran authorities respect decision of the people of Tocoa to say NO to petcoke thermoelectric plant and Emco's mining megaproject
February 19, 2024

National and international organizations demand that Honduran authorities respect the decision of the people of Tocoa to say NO to the petroleum coke thermoelectric plant and Emco's mining megaproject, among other demands. On Saturday, December 9, 2023, the people of Tocoa were called by the Municipal Corporation to participate in an open town meeting regarding the Ecotek petroleum coke thermoelectric project, one of the seven components of an iron oxide megaproject promoted by the "Emco Holdings" consortium of Ana Facusse and Lenir Perez. 

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