Amnesty International
Press Release
Immigration Enforcement Results in
Widespread and Systemic Human Rights Abuses, says New Amnesty International
Report
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Human Rights
Organization Reveals Barriers Faced by Immigrant Victims of Crime, Identifies Indigenous
and Latino Communities and People of Color Among Those Targeted in
Discriminatory Practices
(Washington, D.C.) — Communities
living along the U.S.-Mexico border, particularly Latinos, individuals
perceived to be of Latino origin and Indigenous communities, are
disproportionately affected by a range of immigration control measures,
resulting in a pattern of human rights violations, Amnesty International USA
(AIUSA) reports today.
The organization's new
report, In Hostile Terrain: Human Rights
Violations in Immigration Enforcement in the U.S. Southwest, highlights
systemic failures of federal, state and local authorities to enforce
immigration laws on the basis of non-discrimination.
Among the many findings,
the report illustrates that the United States is failing in its obligations to
respect immigrants' right to life, ensure access to justice for immigrant
survivors of crime, particularly women and children, and recognize the border
crossing rights of indigenous communities.
According to the U.S. government, there are approximately
14,500-17,500 people trafficked into the United States each year for labor or
sexual exploitation. However, barriers caused by breakdowns in the system that identify
immigrant survivors of trafficking leave many without any relief from
immigration detention and deportation. Of the 5,000 T-visas available annually
to survivors of human trafficking, statistics show that only six percent are
actually utilized.
"The culture around immigration in the United States
has created a perfect storm — survivors of
trafficking and other crimes like domestic violence are increasingly seen as
criminals rather than as victims,” said Justin Mazzola, Amnesty International
researcher and lead author of the report. “At the same time, fewer people are
willing to report such crimes, as they feel it may expose them to immigration
enforcement. In addition, many feel that
police will be unable or unwilling to help.”
Carolina, a Honduran native who was brought to the United
States after being repeatedly sold for sex, beaten and
drugged, was held for six months in detention in Pearsall, Texas, after
immigration agents found her in the trunk of a car crossing the U.S.-Mexico
border. While detained, Carolina was denied certification as a trafficking
victim because she had originally wanted to come to the United States
voluntarily before she was sold into sexual slavery and trafficked into the
country.
It was only after a review of her case in February 2011,
more than two years after she was discovered in the car trunk, that Carolina's
trafficking victim visa was approved, allowing her to remain in the United
States and become eligible for mental health and support services. "Now, I can finally begin to heal,"
Carolina said following her release from detention.
Immigration control measures increasingly jeopardize
individuals' right to life when crossing the border. U.S. policies intentionally reroute migrants
from traditional entry points to the most hostile terrain in the Southwest
United States, including crossings over vast deserts, rivers and high mountains
in searing heat. From 1998 to 2008, as
many as 5,287 migrants died while attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
The report finds that indigenous communities are left
particularly vulnerable to discrimination and other abuses stemming from
immigration enforcement. Indigenous peoples, whose traditional territories and
cultural communities span the U.S.-Mexico border and necessitate frequent
crossings, are often intimidated and harassed by border officials for speaking
little Spanish or English and holding only tribal identification
documents.
Furthermore, federal immigration programs that engage
state and local police in enforcing immigration laws place Latino communities,
Indigenous communities and communities of color along the border at risk of
discriminatory profiling. Because monitoring and oversight of these immigration
programs is vastly inadequate, those responsible for human rights abuses are
rarely held to account. As a result,
such practices, including targeting individuals based on their perceived
ethnicity, have become commonplace and entrenched, fostering a culture of
impunity that perpetuates discriminatory profiling. The recent proliferation of
state laws that target immigrants place them at further risk of discrimination
and impedes their right to access education and essential health care
services.
Texas-born actress Amber Heard, who has participated in
several research excursions to the Southwest border with Amnesty International,
said: "I was moved to tears upon hearing the stories about the
ill-treatment of immigrants. These are individuals whose only objective is to
provide for their families. If our nation’s goal is to promote and protect
human rights around the world, then we need to start implementing that notion
at home and we must do better.”
Among its recommendations, Amnesty International urges
the U.S. government:
- · to suspend all immigration enforcement programs pending a review by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General to determine whether the programs can be implemented in a non-discriminatory way
- · to pass legislation that guarantees equitable access to justice and protection for survivors of crime
- · to respect and facilitate the use of indigenous identity papers and immigration documents for travel across borders
- · and to ensure, as a matter of priority, that its border policies and practices do not have the direct or indirect effect of leading to the deaths of migrants
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace
Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million
supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for
human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses,
educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever
justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
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For more information, please visit http://www.amnesty.org.
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Twitter:
@amnesty
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