Promote Justice for Mexico and the Borderlands

On the heels of an especially violent summer south of the border, well-known Mexican movie star Diego Luna came to Washington, D.C. in September, not as an actor, but as an advocate for the growing international campaign Stop Gun Smuggling: 3 Things President Obama CAN Do. Luna met with policymakers to promote measures that could curb the flow of assault weapons from the United States into Mexico, saving thousands of Mexican lives, while making U.S. communities safer. Some estimates suggest that as many as 2,000 guns are smuggled across the U.S. border into Mexico every day, and in Diego’s own words:

Below is a very important report by No More Deaths describing serious problems concerning short-term custody practices by the U.S. Border Patrol. The findings of this report are twofold: First, human rights abuses of individuals in short-term U.S. Border Patrol custody are systematic and widespread. The abuses documented over the past two and a half years do not reflect anomalous incidents but rather an institutional culture of abuse within Border Patrol. Second, the custody standards that do exist are inadequate and are not subject to the oversight necessary to ensure their implementation. Without drastic changes to Border Patrol custody standards and independent accountability mechanisms, the senseless abuse of immigrants along the border and in Border Patrol custody is certain to continue. Please find a brief summary of the report’s methodology, findings, and recommendations below. 

This is horrible and shameful news, so we’ll get straight to the point.

Over the last 5 years, migrants have suffered more than 30,000 incidents of abuse and mistreatment while in Border Patrol custody, according to a shocking new report by humanitarian organization No More Deaths. Many of the abuses plainly meet the definition of torture under international law.

Click here to sign the petition calling for an immediate end to the abuse, clear and enforceable standards for Border Patrol short-term custody, and independent community oversight of Border Patrol.

Inés and Valentina have waited long enough.  It’s time for justice to be served.

Nine long years after being raped and tortured by soldiers in the Mexican military, Inés Fernández and Valentina Rosendo—two Me’phaa indigenous women from Guerrero, Mexico—have yet to see justice done. They’re tired of excuses and sick of delays, so they’re launching a campaign that calls on President Calderón to stand up against human rights abuses by the military and hold soldiers accountable for their crimes.

But Inés and Valentina can’t do this alone. They need your help.