From the Borderlands

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, Margaret Seiler of Witness at the Border sits down with Amali Tower, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Refugees, a research and advocacy organization that calls for the protection of those displaced by climate change.

The latest driver of forced migration, climate change has had devastating effects throughout the Global South. Years of drought followed by back-to-back category-4 hurricanes, for example, have made the Central American region increasingly uninhabitable. 

Amali stresses the urgency: Not only is climate change an existential force that knows no borders and impacts most those who've contributed least to its cause, but the "traditional" protections afforded to refugees (aka asylum seekers) by the 1951 framework fall outside its current bounds. Though at the time considered a great advance for social justice and international human rights law, the 1951 Refugee Convention is now ill-equipped to deal with the greatest crisis of our time, Amali says.

Alongside crippling poverty, corruption, and conflict, climate change is implicated in the forced displacement of an unprecedented 273 million of the world's most vulnerable people. The tasks facing the international community are clear, particularly governments in the Global North: Stop denying climate change, and start rethinking how the 1951 Refugee Convention can be updated to respond to a world on fire.

Central American Climate Migration is a Human Security Crisis By Amali Tower

CLIMATE DISPLACEMENT IN THE NEWS

FRONTLINES: ACTIONS ON CLIMATE DISPLACEMENT

WITNESS RADIO: EPISODE 3 -- Aviva Chomsky on the REAL Root Causes of Migration

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Everyone’s talking about “root causes of migration” these days.

We’re hearing a lot about poverty, corruption, violence. But we’re not hearing much about what’s behind that poverty, corruption, violence, or the climate-related disasters and failing economies that force people to pull up stakes and flee. Why?

We’re also hearing a lot about bringing “Security and Prosperity” to the Central American region. But does this herald a new policy direction, or is it simply a euphemism for more of the same?

In this sit-down with Professor Aviva Chomsky, we explore these questions and more.

Her brilliant new book, Central America's Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration, takes us all the way back to the founding of the United States to explain the complex relationship the US has long had with its southern neighbors and how we got to the place we find ourselves in today.

Professor Chomsky’s book is a Must-Read for anyone wishing to understand why migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers continue to arrive at US borders despite decades of US immigration strategies that prioritize deterrence over the human right to dignity.

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Special thanks to Witness Radio Executive Producer, Professor Camilo Perez-Bustillo, our Patreon Patrons, without whom we could not create this show, and to our listeners, for joining us to consider the real root causes of migration to the United States — the ones lurking behind poverty, corruption, and violence, and which contribute to today’s climate-related disasters and failing economies south of the US border.

I’m Sarah Towle, Host and Director of Witness Radio, where we aim to discuss all the issues plaguing the US immigration system today. This is Why we Witness.

Subscribe, Rate, and Review Witness Radio on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And, please, consider becoming a Patron of Witness Radio, if you haven’t already. It’s easy to do. Just go to patreon.com/witnessradio and sign up.

We’ll see you here, there, and everywhere.

Witness Radio is produced by Livia Brock.

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It was April 30th, 2021, Mexico’s Children’s Day — El Dia de las Niñas y Niños, which happened to coincide with the 100th day of the Biden administration. Witness at the Border, together with over 80 national and international sponsors, and in collaboration with local partners — the Border Network for Human Rights, the Coalition to End Child Detention, and the Hope Border Institute — convened at the Paso del Norte Bridge in the borderlands of El Paso, Texas. From there, we walked six miles to the gates of Fort Bliss, the largest military base in the United States, which as of this recording was holding nearly 5000 migrant youth.

Participants rallied to hear speakers shed light on the injustices committed by detaining children, particularly children in trauma , and particularly during a deadly pandemic — an issue that we believe should be on the minds of all Americans.

This episode of Witness Radio is an effort to recreate that important day and to spread the word, from the borderlands and beyond, about what is being done to children in all our names.

Join us as we bear witness in the defense of human dignity and the human rights of migrant children and their families.

Speakers in order of appearance:

Rabbi Josh Whinston Temple Beth Emeth

Joshua Rubin Witness at the Border

Veronica Frescas Border Network for Human Rights

Marisa Limon Garza Hope Border Institute

Susana Herrera-Villa Border Network for Human Rights

Dr. Amy Cohen Every. Last. One

Karina Breceda San Juan Apostol Shelter

Adriana Cadena Border Network for Human Rights

And me, Sarah Towle, Host & Director of Witness Radio

Related Resources:

New York Times For Migrant Children in Federal Care, a ‘Sense of Desperation’

CBS News Migrant children describe poor conditions at makeshift U.S. shelters in interviews with attorneys

BBC News Children tell of neglect, filth and fear in US asylum camps

El Paso Matters Critics raise concerns over expanding Fort Bliss megasite for migrant children

Witness Radio Episode 1: Title 42 -- The Invisible Border Wall

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If you've never heard of Title 42, I'm not surprised. It's a super obscure part of the United States public health code. In this inaugural episode of Witness Radio, we unpack the evils lurking behind Title and explain why everyone should demand President Biden and DHS Secretary Mayorkas to rescind it...Now!

On the night I joined Guerline Jozef, Thomas Cartwright, Camilo Perez-Bustillo, and Joshua Rubin to discuss the tragic unintended consequences of Title 42, the Biden administration had already realized 23 deportation flights to Haiti, dropping thousands of the world's most vulnerable asylum seekers into a country literally on fire. Today, as we near Biden's first 100 days, deportation flights to Haiti now number 29 -- the lion's share taking place during Black History Month.

Meanwhile, the numbers of so-called unaccompanied youth crossing the border have skyrocketed. Why? Title 42.

Trump's real wall -- an invisible wall with Stephen Miller's fingerprints all over it -- Title 42 traps families in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and safety from persecution in some of the most dangerous places on earth. Unable to penetrate this invisible wall, too many parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send their kids across to "safety" alone. In Rubin's words, "It is a disaster. It is a tragedy. It is immoral. It is horrible."

Still not sure what Title 42 is? Listen to this podcast.

Then circle back here for more information:

The Invisible Wall: Title 42 and its Impact on Haitian Migrants

Haitian Bridge Alliance, UndocuBlack Network, Quixote Center

Black Immigrants Matter

Jack Herrera with Guerline Jozef, The Nation

The Time for a Paradigmatic Shift in How Americans View Immigrants and Immigration is Now

Sarah Towle, Southern Border Communities Coalition

Seven Myths We Must Unlearn To Reclaim Our Humanity

Sarah Towle, Medium, The Daily Kos

THIS IS WHY WE WITNESS!

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Meet the mighty band from Witness at the Border. Find out what it means to Witness and to be a Witness. Learn how witnessing is different (and not so different) from activism, and how YOU can become a Witness at the Border today!

In order of appearance:

• Joshua Rubin
• Camilo Perez-Bustillo
• Julie Swift
• Karla Barber
• Lee Goodman
• Thomas Cartwright
• Margaret Seiler

and Witness Radio host & creator, Sarah Towle.

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