Push Congress to Pass the Dream Act
by Jenny Johnson and Ben Leiter
on November 22, 2010
As we join with our families to celebrate Thanksgiving, we also remember the many thousands of immigrant families who continue to suffer and struggle in the absence of needed immigration reform. The passage of the DREAM Act can make a huge difference in the lives of undocumented youth who were brought to the U.S. by their parents and now, after working and studying hard to graduate from our neighborhoods’ high schools, confront obstacles to their future because of their legal status. By removing such barriers, the DREAM Act will allow immigrant students to pursue their dreams.
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Rights Groups to President Obama: End Violence Against Migrants on Both Sides of the Border
by Ben Leiter
on November 12, 2010
Migrants in our region are experiencing a human rights crisis, particularly those who journey northward through Mexico en route to the United States. Just this past August, 72 migrants from Central and South America were found massacred in northern Mexico. Far from an isolated occurrence, this incident is a terrifying example of the experiences that countless migrants suffer on a daily basis. Click here to read the letter that LAWG and concerned faith, labor and human rights groups sent to President Obama urging him to demonstrate leadership at home to promote and protect the migrants’ human and civil rights, as well as work with counterparts in Mexico to ensure that migrants receive the basic rights inherently afforded to all humanity.
LAWG and NGO Partners' Joint Statement on President Calderón's White House Visit
by Brian Erickson
on May 19, 2010
In response to President Calderón's meeting with President Obama and address to Congress, LAWG, WOLA, and our counterparts in Mexico issued a joint statement urging our respective elected officials to move beyond the empty platitudes that typically characterize such meetings and instead capitalize on this historic visit to make concrete and meaningful commitments to transform the rhetoric of shared responsibility into reality. Given the shared challenges posed by organized crime, arms trafficking and illicit drug use, it is critical that both countries move beyond ineffective and worn-out strategies and propose concrete, comprehensive solutions to address the root causes of these problems. To read the full statement, click here.
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Congress: Withhold Funds for Mexico Tied to Human Rights Performance
by Ben Leiter
on September 17, 2010
Despite the fact that not a single soldier responsible for human rights violations has been held accountable by civilian authorities in the years since the onset of the Merida Initiative, the State Department released its second report on September 2, 2010 affirming that the Mexican government has met the Merida Initiative’s human rights requirements. This report not only recommends the release of roughly $36 million in Merida funds that had been previously withheld from the 2009 and 2010 budgets, but also sends the wrong message to Mexico on human rights.
In response, LAWG joined with Human Rights Watch, Washington Office on Latin America, Amnesty International and five Mexican human rights organizations to send the message to Congress that it is in the best interest of both countries to provide a candid assessment of Mexico’s progress towards improving accountability and transparency and withhold funds pending real progress. You can find below the joint statement issued by LAWGEF along with U.S. and international human rights partners.
If you’d like to read the report in english click here o para leerlo en español, haga clic aquí.
DeMint Dropped: Border Fencing Hits a Wall
by Brian Erickson
on November 17, 2009
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US & Mexican NGOs Call for Merida Funds to be Withheld Pending Real Progress in Human Rights
by Brian Erickson
on May 26, 2010
Conditioned funds for Mexico under the Merida Initiative should not be released unless concrete progress is made on human rights requirements
LAWGEF, along with partner U.S. and international human rights organizations, today issued a memo to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging the State Department to recommend in its next report to the U.S. Congress on human rights requirements in the Merida Initiative that the conditioned funds for Mexico not be released until the Mexican government demonstrates concrete and measurable advances in meeting these requirements. To read the full memo, click here. Otherwise, below you will find an executive summary of the memo.
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Challenges and Opportunities to Strengthen Law Enforcement at the State and Local Level in Mexico
by Suzette Diaz
on October 05, 2009
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