Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands

Let’s turn back the clock. The year is 2006. The month is May. Mexico State Security Forces evict a group of flower sellers from a local market in Texcoco, Mexico, whom authorities claim set up stalls without permission outside of the market. This eviction produced an outpouring of community support for the vendors in Texcoco and in San Salvador Atenco. The protest, which lasted two days, resulted in arrests of more than 200 people, 47 of which were women. These women were forced to endure unimaginable forms of violence at the hands of the police. Thus far, state authorities have pursued criminal action in only two of the 11 cases, citing “abuse of authority or “lewd acts” and not, torture. 

The Latin America Working Group Education Fund, the Washington Office on Latin America and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights invite you to a discussion on 

Human Rights Challenges in Mexico
 
Featuring
 
Stephanie Brewer
Miguel Agustín Pro Juárez Human Rights Center (Centro Prodh)
 
Cristina Hardaga Fernández
Tlachinollan Human Rights Center, Guerrero

Daniel Joloy
Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (CMDPDH)

Ana Luna Serrano
Citizens in Support of Human Rights, Nuevo León
 
Other speakers to be confirmed.
 
Friday, March 15, 2013 
9:00 a.m.-10:30am
Washington Office on Latin America
1666 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 400

President Obama, Congress, and a growing majority of American voters agree that the U.S. immigration system is broken and must be fixed. However, more than a month into the president’s second term and an unending national debate, the question remains: will anything actually happen on immigration reform? Recent events, including a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” held February 13th provided us with an inkling of what we might have in store. Committee Chair Senator Leahy (D-Vt.) echoed President Obama saying “Now is the time” for immigration reform. Meanwhile, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) saw “overconfidence on this (immigration reform) bill” and asserted that he and others will continue to fight it over issues of earned legalization, enforcement, and border security. While Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), one of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” senators working on their own comprehensive immigration framework, indicated support for making reform happen, he also noted that any discussions thus far include “triggers that need to be trippled in terms of border security...”

President Obama's words as he discussed principles for immigration reform struck a deep chord. Some of us at the Latin America Working Group office decided to reflect on our families' paths to the United States.

Here's what he said:

When we talk about that in the abstract, it’s easy sometimes for the discussion to take on a feeling of “us” versus “them.”  And when that happens, a lot of folks forget that most of “us” used to be “them.”  We forget that.

It’s really important for us to remember our history.  Unless you’re one of the first Americans, a Native American, you came from someplace else.  Somebody brought you...