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!
In honor of the 61st anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) has announced an open to the public showing of John Carlos Frey's film in the North Congressional Meeting Room of the Capitol Visitor Center this Thursday, December 10th, from 6:30-8:30pm, to be followed by a discussion led by both Rep. Grijalva and Director Frey.
Rep. Grijalva is not alone in recognizing the United States has failed in its attempts to address immigration. Senator John McCain had this to say, "And if you believe that the only answer to our immigration problems is to build a bigger wall, then I would argue that you are not really totally aware of the conditions of the human heart."
Our border has seen over 5,600 migrant deaths in 15 years. The humanitarian group No More Deaths counts 206 deaths this year in just the state of Arizona. Yet, one of their volunteers, Walt Staton, is facing 25 days of imprisonment for placing water jugs along migrant routes through the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Reserve. But he is standing firm stating, "When a government fails to respect and protect basic human rights…it is the responsibility of citizens to act in defense of those rights."
Now we must stand alongside humanitarians like Walt Staton and demand that the migrant deaths crisis be addressed by our leaders.
Our messages are starting to have an impact. An amendment to expand border fence construction was recently struck down; Sen. Kerry (D-MA) and Rep. Dicks (D-WA) attended the Borderlands RAVE photo exhibit reception to show their support for our efforts. As we speak, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) is working on a comprehensive immigration bill that is expected to be introduced soon. This is the time to urge our representatives to support comprehensive immigration reform along with humane and sensible border enforcement that respects the environment and the dignity of each migrant life that crosses through the desert of our Southwestern border.
If you haven't done so yet, please take a moment to email your representative in memory of the 5,600 lives that have been lost. Each death is one too many.
