U.S COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS
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An Open Letter to Asylum Seekers

October 15, 2024

Dear asylum seekers,

The U.S. Government has taken the liberty to determine that certain individuals fleeing persecution deserve safety more than others, and as asylum seekers coming to the U.S.-Mexico border, unfortunately, your plight does not measure up.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you fleeing conflict and war, human rights violations, and oppressive governments. The U.S. Government has failed to build its capacity to process you efficiently, so take your children and your families away from our border and seek safety elsewhere. Please understand, it is nothing personal—just a matter of political expediency.

If you decide to still seek refuge at the U.S.-Mexico border, please know that you will be stored in Mexico until the United States finds it expedient to process you. You will be forced to wait an indeterminate amount of time—up to nine months in some cases—where you must overcome additional barriers for a chance to speak with border officials.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) and the International Institute of New England (IINE) learned about some of the barriers that you—asylum seekers—face when traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border in search of safety. We heard some of your harrowing stories of extortion, sexual assault, physical violence, and other dangers while anxiously waiting for an appointment at a port of entry through the CBP One App.

Your family was detained, taken to a stash house, and abused. At the stash house, your mother was raped twice, your husband beaten, and your daughters saw it all. You were left with nothing but scars and trauma at the U.S.-Mexican border.

While train surfing on La Bestia on your journey northward, your family from Venezuela, with two small daughters, witnessed a sister migrant lose her leg while attempting to board the train. Mexican authorities stranded your family and other migrants on top of the train for seven days without food or water, preventing the train from moving onward, and trying to make you desperate enough to turn yourself over to law enforcement. Your daughters got sick. But you were stronger than that. You persevered and are now waiting for an appointment through the CBP One App.

Your family from Colombia that crossed the Darién gap shared their “nightmare” after crossing into Mexico. Your family was kidnapped and held for ransom. You had to pay off criminal actors to be allowed to travel from one part of Mexico to another. Understandably, everything now appears to threaten you and your family. You are even scared to walk outside the shelter where you are staying.

One of your most vulnerable children, a gay asylum seeker from Guatemala, was assaulted and violated by Mexican law enforcement. Mexico’s migration authorities and National Guard ripped his clothes off and groped him while searching for money hidden on his body. After taking off his shoes and tearing his boxers, Mexican authorities stole his money and left him without anything.

This is what you—asylum seekers—are risking for a chance at safety. This is what you must overcome after leaving everything behind in your home country. These are the types of situations enabled by U.S. policy.

In early June, President Biden issued an Executive Proclamation and subsequent Interim Final Rule (IFR) that placed further limits and conditions on asylum eligibility. In July, USCRI and IINE visited the U.S.-Mexico border to assess the impact of the Proclamation and IFR on asylum seekers in Mexico.

The U.S. Government redoubled its efforts to “secure” the border by publishing a Final Rule on September 30, solidifying and expanding upon the restrictions in the IFR. Contrary to the lawless portrayal of the U.S.-Mexico border, it is far from chaotic. We have seen it for ourselves. If anything, the United States creates a sense of lawlessness and uncertainty along the other side of the border by externalizing and overlooking its international and moral obligations.

Asylum seekers, USCRI and IINE were and continue to be deeply moved by your resilience and determination to seek asylum despite our government’s best efforts to dissuade you. Your perseverance in the face of adversity, uncertainty, and bureaucratic walls is truly admirable. The selective humanity of the U.S. Government to welcome some and discard others is unconscionable. We stand in solidarity with you and will continue to advocate for your right to seek asylum as enshrined in Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in U.S. immigration law.

 

USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-government, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.

For press inquiries, please contact: [email protected].

 


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