As we eagerly prepare for our first asylum-seekers to travel to Rutland County, we have been watching with rising alarm as the troubling situation along the southern border continues. We have been particularly disturbed by reports from NPR, such as: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/31/982953853/texas-migrant-facility-was-severely-overcrowded-ap-reporter-says
We are sharing this letter that was recently signed by our collaborator on the southern border, the Kino Border Initiative: https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/ngo-letter-biden-administration-recent-asylum-statements-and-actions?fbclid=IwAR1VR4xgknm2r5_kq5sHVTOYbi8zRea6bhvkPv4RUQhr0VcGWlBhNohsKsY
We join the Kino Border Initiative in urging President Biden to uphold U.S. anti-trafficking and refugee law and treaties by ending Title 42 expulsions, protecting children, restarting asylum at the border, supporting case management, increasing fairness and due process in asylum adjudications, addressing root causes of migration, and promoting refugee protections regionally.
If you would like to learn more about what’s happening in the camps and along the southern border, we recommend the balanced reporting at NPR News, Here and Now, and Consider This.