Dear Friends,
Today, on International Migrants Day, December 18, 2020, we are reflecting on the pain, suffering, death, and disappearances that have been so pronounced this year. Collectively facing a global pandemic, communities worldwide have continued to resist state-sponsored violence, the practice of placing profit over people, and the root causes of migration that have brought many into the borders of a violent United States. Their protests have reminded us that the status quo of unabated violence cannot and will not continue to be the norm.
We are also reminded of how difficult the struggle to leave home, to leave family, to embark on a journey without the certainty of survival, without the guarantee of return, or without the guarantee of a life without fear or persecution, requires bravery and resilience. We uplift those who have taken great risks to work for a better life for their families.
Today, we also remember with great sadness, the 628 children separated at the border from parents that have not yet been found, and the people that perished on their way to or across the US-Mexico border during a global pandemic, unrelenting heat, increased militarization, and dehumanizing experiences in detention centers.
We denounce the ways in which Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), specifically the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) aided in the repression of people of color by implementing counter-insurgency tactics during Black Lives Matter Protests. We denounce ICE and their current plans with Fort Benning in building a Urban Warfare Training Facility. We denounce the decades of work to protect migrant and refugee rights that have been undone under this administration, and which allow the Border Patrol to continue with unchecked power, essentially, functioning as a paramilitary organization continuously violating human and civil rights.
On this international day of the migrant, we uplift all those who persist despite the odds, whose resistance does not wane, whose love for their family is so profound that they cross borders, face dangers, and risk everything.
No matter what day of the year, we will not lose sight of who we organize with, why we continue to fight for collective liberation, and how critical it is to end US state sanctioned violence. Today, we center, honor, and uplift the resistance of migrants. Together, we say ¡nunca mas!
In solidarity,
Brigitte, Candice, Dévora, Pablo, and Roy
SOA Watch
