EXTREMELY URGENT ACTION:
Stop Texas Deportations
"PLEASE SAVE US. We as in my fellow inmates find ourselves in
the Torrance County Detention Facility and we are scared for our lives.”
Send faxes now
This was the first line of one of the four letters, received by No More Deaths this week, signed by a total of 21 people being held on immigration charges in New Mexico. All the letters expressed extreme fear of being kidnapped or murdered if they are deported through the border states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas (on the other side of the border from New Mexico and Texas). In these states, organized crime now has more power than the local government and migrants are regularly targeted upon arrival for extortion, violence, and forced conscription as gunmen and drug traffickers. Migrants who have spent many years in the U.S. and maintain connections here, such as citizen children, are especially vulnerable to predation by the cartels, which use their family to demand a high ransom payment.
The letter continues: “[One of the inmates here was last deported through Texas and he was] kidnapped and held hostage along with other deportees and was always at gunpoint. . . . Some of the group of deportees didn’t have family or had no money to pay the ransom so this group killed them and the ones that paid escaped death but not a beating . . . On the other side of the border of Texas is where this takes place every day.”
Send faxes now and see below for more actions. WE MUST DEMAND THAT ICE AND BORDER PATROL STOP ALL DEPORTATIONS THROUGH TEXAS—INCLUDING THE INMATES OF THE TORRANCE COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY.
The stories from this group of detainees are not random anecdotes or exaggerations. Over 34,500 people have been killed over the last four years in drug cartel and gang related violence, with over half the killings in 2010 taking place in Chihuahua, Sinaloa and Tamaulipas.
United States detention and deportation practices are exposing migrants to severe and unnecessary risks. Migrants given prison sentences for crossing the border are routinely separated from their belongings, including identification, all their money, and lists of phone numbers of family members. The lack of resources, proof of identity, and ability to contact support highly intensifies existing dangers. The United States regularly deports people at night, to regions they are unfamiliar with, where they can easily be exploited and harmed.
Cartels use corrupt police and government agencies intended to assist migrants to funnel recent deportees directly into their hands. According to one letter, “When one crosses the border the municipal police is just waiting and watching for deportees. They pull you over with the excuse that they are going to help you or that you fit a description of a criminal... this is a lie and part of the scam. These police work for the [cartels]. They take you to an abandoned alley or house and waiting for you is the [gang]. At gunpoint your eyes are bandaged and your feet and hands are tied. And so begins the nightmare.”
There is NO excuse for putting people at risk for being kidnapped or killed, especially when there are safe options that are intentionally neglected. The border ports of Agua Prieta and Naco, Sonora, Mexico have not been used for repatriation in over 8 months, even though they are known to be among the safest border towns and are, in fact, often closer to the detention facilities than the dangerous cities where migrants are being sent instead.
In reality, there is NO border city that is safe. Drug cartels and gangs are active in every border city and the violence targeting migrants can shift as quickly as the sites of deportation. However, the U.S. government still has a moral responsibility to take any action necessary to avoid unnecessary risk to human life and increased suffering. The inmates at Torrance County Detention Facility, held only for immigration sentences, as well as all others awaiting deportation, have a right to return to their county in the safest manner possible, including a complete return of their belongings and identification papers.
TAKE ACTION!
- Send faxes now.
- Call Janet Napolitano, Director of the Department of Homeland Security: (202) 282-8495
- Call John Morton, Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): (202) 732-3000
- Call Alan Bersin, Commission of Customs and Border Protection: (202) 344-1780
- End all deportations to dangerous border ports. There is NO excuse for putting people at risk for being kidnapped or killed, especially when there are safer options that are intentionally neglected.
- Ensure the safety of the inmates of the Torrance County Detention Facility.
- Everyone to be removed/deported to Mexico must receive their personal effects on departure. This can mean the difference between life and death for many.
