Action Alerts

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. 

“We embrace the pain of the mothers and fathers in the United States who have lost children to gun violence, because my own son was disappeared in Michoacán with a firearm,” said Araceli Rodríguez, mother of Luis Ángel León Rodríguez in a statement from Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity (MPJD).  Just like parents who lost children in the horrific Newtown shooting, victims across Mexico who have lost their sons and daughters to gun violence are calling for action to prevent future tragedies.

What can you do? Join us and call your members of Congress on Monday, February 4th!

Today, President Obama unveiled an expansive plan to tackle gun violence.  For so many of us focused on ending the bloodshed that has devastated communities on both sides of the border, this is encouraging news.

We wanted to THANK YOU for adding YOUR voice to the groundswell calling for an end to gun violence.  Earlier this week, the petition that many of you signed urging President Obama to better enforce and tighten lax U.S. gun laws that traffickers exploit to get guns and smuggle them into Mexico was delivered to Vice President Biden’s task force on gun violence .  As you may recall, this is the same petition initiated by groups from Mexico’s Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity in partnership with LAWG and dozens of faith-based, human rights and anti-gun violence groups from both sides of the border. 

We were proud to join with YOU and so many partners and allies in hosting Mexico’s Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity here in our nation’s capitol last month.  Highlights of their 3-day stop in Washington, D.C. included a TV-camera crowded press conference on the steps of a Capitol Hill church and a ‘lobby day’ where teams of victims and advocates deployed all over Capitol Hill to tell their stories to individual members and congressional aides. The historic visit ended with a moving vigil and march through Columbia Heights to a final event in Malcolm X Park, a dramatic poetry reading by the Mexican poet Javier Sicilia, whose reaction to his son’s murder sparked the movement, and a stirring speech by the legendary farmworker union leader, Dolores Huerta. 

Last month, the tragic shooting in Colorado horrified the nation. Did you know that the AR-15 type guns used in the Colorado shooting have been found at many violent crime scenes in Mexico – and that many of these weapons have been traced to the United States?  Check out this short video to learn how these guns are trafficked to Mexico, who profits, and what President Obama can do to help STOP the violence in Mexico.



Watch the video and TAKE ACTION to urge President Obama to act now to stop gun trafficking into Mexico!

Over the past month, the Caravan for Peace with Justice and Dignity has traveled 6,000 miles across the United States calling for the U.S to do its part to stop violence in Mexico. From LA to Chicago, Houston to Cleveland, caravaneros have reached 25 cities calling for an end to the failed drug war that has left over 60,000 dead and 10,000 disappeared in Mexico over the last five years.

On Monday, September 10th, the Caravan will arrive to Washington, D.C., the final stop of the Caravan.  Poet and movement leader Javier Sicilia and victims who have lost loved ones to violence in Mexico will be here to make their voices heard in our nation’s capital – and we ask you to JOIN US and add your voice in calling for an end to the failed policies, an end to bloodshed.

On Wednesday, September 12th, LAWG and partners are organizing a Vigil/Procession for Peace to commemorate the 60,000 people who have died in Mexico’s misguided “war on drugs.”  We will gather at 5:30 p.m. at St. Stephen & the Incarnation Church—1525 Newton St. NW Washington, D.C.  At 6:30pm, we’ll march down 16th Street to Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park for a candlelight vigil.

Will you join us on Wednesday, September 12th to make a statement alongside victims of violence from Mexico?

“… treat them (migrants) like human beings because they are not animals,” responded a nurse in Nogales, Arizona, when asked what she would say to the U.S. Border Patrol.

Did you catch it?  Last week, PBS aired Part 2 of their investigation into allegations of abuse by the U.S. Border Patrol, including sexual assault, physical abuse, and even torture.   In response, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) remarked, “The PBS report paints an appalling picture of cruelty and corruption.”

Estamos hasta la madre -- it means, “we’ve had enough.”

Last year, Javier Sicilia experienced a parent’s worst nightmare: his 24-year-old son, Juan Francisco, was murdered in Mexico’s deadly “drug war,” one of 60,000 men, women and children to fall victim to brutal violence in the past six years.

You may not know who Israel Arzate Meléndez is, but we think you should hear his story.

In February 2010, Israel was picked up by Mexican soldiers in Ciudad Juarez. Sounds terrifying, right? Well, it gets worse. He was then taken to a military base where he was beaten, given electric shocks, and suffocated repeatedly until he finally gave in and confessed to a crime he didn’t commit. No one seemed to mind that it was a false confession, only offered to make the torture stop.

Anastasio Hernandez was a 42-year old construction worker, husband, father of five children, and a long-time resident of San Diego, CA. That’s before he was captured by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and, instead of being deported, was brutally beaten and tased to death.

On May 28, 2010, Anastasio Hernández Rojas, a 42-year old construction worker, husband, father of five U.S.-citizen children, and long-time resident of San Diego, CA, was brutally beaten, repeatedly shot with a taser while handcuffed, and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego. 

Witnesses, and Hernández himself, pleaded with the border agents to stop the beating, but they did not. Despite community outcry, protests, and countless meetings with agency leadership, Border Patrol has taken no known action against the agents involved.

Have you ever been inside a U.S. Border Patrol detention facility? I haven’t. But every year, thousands of migrants, many from Mexico and Central America, are held in these centers. Many have reported that their basic human rights were violated while in U.S. Border Patrol custody. Sadly, U.S. tax dollars are funding this humanitarian rights crisis at our Southwest border, and we need your help to stop it. First, let me tell you a few stories:

We’ve got just one simple, but critical action for you to take today:

Join our new Facebook campaign “STOP the Violence in Mexico” and help us grow the movement for justice and human rights in Mexico.  In communities across the United States, there are concerned people like you who are passionate about human rights. But unlike you, a lot of them haven’t heard about what’s been going on in Mexico or don't know how to turn their passion into action; action that can make a huge difference in real people’s lives.

We’re moving full speed ahead with the “Stop Gun Smuggling to Mexico” campaign and want to make sure to keep you in the loop. We’ve seen some small but significant progress lately, and there are a number of exciting developments on the horizon that we want you to know about, so check out the updates below!

If you haven’t already, click here to tell President Obama to stop gun smuggling into Mexico.

In too many communities across Mexico, violence has become a frightening reality of daily life, leading to the death of some 50,000 people in five years.

Recently, the Latin America Working Group teamed up with well-known Mexican actor Diego Luna to oppose one of the contributors to this violence: illegal gun smuggling across the U.S. border.

Click here to tell President Obama to Stop Gun Smuggling into Mexico.

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.

Imagine waking up to the sound of AK-47s in the morning and going to bed to the cries of grieving families at night. Imagine a place where children cannot play outside for fear of being caught in the crossfire or gunned down at a birthday party.

In too many communities across Mexico, such violence has become a frightening reality of daily life.  Over the past four years, roughly 40,000 people have been killed in Mexico’s  “drug war.”  And many of the guns that fuel this violence were smuggled over the border from the U.S. into Mexico. 

“PLEASE SAVE US. We as in my fellow inmates find ourselves in the Torrance County Detention Facility and we are scared for our lives.”

Fearful of being kidnapped or murdered if they were deported to Mexican states that border Texas and New Mexico, individuals held on immigration charges in New Mexico sent this plea to No More Deaths, a humanitarian aid organization that works to protect migrants in the Arizona/Sonora border area. 

Migrants in our region are experiencing a human rights crisis, particularly those who journey northward through Mexico en route to the United States. But, throughout Mexico, those who bravely stand up to promote and protect migrant rights are increasingly becoming victims of threats and attacks themselves.

Speak out against threats and attacks on migrant rights defenders today!

You’ve probably heard plenty about violence committed by warring drug cartels in Mexico over the past several years. But what about the unlawful violence committed by the Mexican military?

Human rights violations committed by soldiers against civilians have skyrocketed since President Calderon took office in 2006. And of the 4,000 complaints of human rights abuses reported so far during his administration, only a single soldier has been held accountable in military jurisdiction. Why this impunity? Because crimes committed by the military against civilians are investigated and tried in notoriously secretive military courts.

Ask your member of Congress to take a stand to end impunity for human rights abuses in Mexico!

You probably heard the news this past August: 72 Central and South American migrants were brutally massacred after resisting their kidnappers’ extortion attempts and demands to work for them as drug smugglers–teens and a pregnant woman among the dead. It was the worst mass-killing in Mexico since Calderón launched his “War on Drugs.”

May 27, 2010 – SPECIAL UPDATE: The Senate Rejected Border Amendments that Would Have Resulted In More of the Same. Today, all 3  “border security first” or “enforcement-only” amendments were defeated during debate on a supplemental appropriations package. Thanks to all who called and took a stand for sensible solutions for the SW border region!

Now we need to see the President and Congress get serious about comprehensive reform and long-term solutions – not quick fix ‘solutions’ like military hardware - to address organized crime related violence in Mexico – efforts that should include strengthening the judicial system, improved accountability for the police and robust protection of human rights. Rather than offering serious solutions, some policymakers have offered more of the same, band-aid, window dressing measures that score political points but don’t solve the problem. That includes President Obama’s decision, announced earlier this week, to send 1,200 National Guardsmen to the border. His decision directly contradicted the facts and what his own administration has been saying for months. Sending the National Guard to the border will not solve our immigration crisis.

---

Your senators need to hear from you NOW to halt efforts to further militarize the U.S.-Mexico border region. We understand that the Senate will be voting TODAY on a trio of harmful amendments seeking to expand misguided, enforcement-only approaches along our Southern border.

We don't typically take action on state-level legislation. However, we find a bill recently passed by Arizona's state legislature and currently on its way to Governor Jan Brewer's desk –- SB1070 –- so dangerously misguided that we feel we cannot sit back silently.  And you shouldn't either!

If allowed to pass into law by Gov. Brewer, SB 1070 would effectively force police to engage in racial profiling, criminalize unauthorized migrants for 'trespassing' into Arizona, and permit anyone to sue local agencies if they believe that the law isn't being adequately enforced.  Such policies are as sweeping as they are dangerous.

If you ascribe to the old saying that "actions speak louder than words," then March 21st, 2010 may become a historic moment. On that day, an estimated 200,000 plus families, students and concerned individuals from Delaware to Oregon participated in the "March for America" in Washington D.C. to remind Congress and President Obama that we're tired of empty promises and want to see action towards immigration reform - and we want to see it now!

Director of The 800 Mile Wall, John Carlos Frey, is asking all the right questions of our U.S.-Mexico border.

"Do we need to spend billions of dollars on fencing and technology? Does it work? Should the thousands of migrant lives lost on U.S. soil be recognized and taken into account? Should we do anything about the deaths? Is there a solution?"

If you're wondering when the opportunity will arise to demand that our legislators begin asking these questions, the time is now!

As a newcomer to the LAWG team, and inside the beltway advocacy, I have been surprised over the last few months to learn what it actually takes to achieve the change we want. Before I started, I assumed that if we could simply bring the facts about real people who are suffering as a result of U.S. policies in countries like Mexico and Colombia, we could make it happen. But it turns out that there's so much more that goes on in DC every day than I could have anticipated.

They don't get it... yet.

Although we now have new leadership in Washington, they still don't understand what they need to do to stand up for human rights. They think that by saying more about the importance of human rights and democracy than the Bush Administration did, they are making progress. But we know that until they actually change U.S. policies to support victims of violence in places like Mexico and Colombia, they will continue to be a part of the problem, not the solution.

Now, if we can get them to hear what we hear from people in Mexico and Colombia and know what we know, they might change their tune.

So, this month we are launching a "Human Rights NOW" campaign, which will use innovative tactics to get them to make human rights come first in U.S. policy.

Actions speak louder than words.

This seems like a simple concept. But lately, the Obama Administration and the State Department seem to have forgotten it when dealing with Latin America. Despite serious human rights abuses by Colombian and Mexican security forces alike, the State Department just went ahead and declared that both countries were meeting the human rights requirements needed in order to receive more U.S. military aid.

Click here to send a fax to Secretary of State Clinton asking her to stand up for human rights!

Do you remember Kevin Costner's blind determination in the movie Field of Dreams to build a baseball field based on the direction of a mysterious voice? Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) has heard a similar voicing stating, "If you build it, they won't come."

He wants a 700-mile wall of pedestrian fencing built along the U.S.-Mexico border --a measure that will harm communities and the environment of the borderlands and do nothing to fix our broken immigration system. 

Click here to help to stop this latest attempt to expand on the failed policy of constructing more walls along our SW border.

Torture, illegal raids, and forced disappearances carried out by government soldiers with no accountability. Is this what we want our government to be funding in Mexico? No.

Senator Patrick Leahy felt the same way.

If you want to support the effort to prioritize human rights in Mexico over military aid, click here.

You and I know that military hardware isn't the solution to Mexico's challenges--and it sure isn't the way to acknowledge the United States' "shared responsibility" for spiraling drug violence. We need to act today.

Last week Representative Raul Grijalva (AZ-7) introduced HR 2076, The Border Security and Responsibility Act of 2009.  The purpose of this bill is to restore the rule of law to the borderlands, protect communities, federal lands, and wildlife habitat from the destructive impacts of the border wall.

Call or email President Obama and let him know that you support comprehensive immigration reform, humane border policy, and a new approach to Mexico that recognizes our country’s “shared responsibility” for violence plaguing Mexico.

Join us in urging the new Secretary of Homeland Security to commit to humane and sensible border policy!

Dear Border Advocates,

The Obama Administration and the 111th Congress will need our encouragement, and yes, our pressure, to take the next steps to build humane and accountable border policy, comprehensive immigration reform, and respect for human rights in Mexico.

The Obama Administration and the 111th Congress will need our pressure and encouragement to take the next steps to build just border policy and respect for human rights in Mexico.

This past Sunday, thousands rallied in Ciudad Juarez to call for peace in the wake of a recent surge of drug cartel-related violence. The U.S. needs to do its part as well, but the United States should not increase human rights violations by backing the army's role in domestic law enforcement.