Photo by Verónica G. Cárdenas

Our demands:

1. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must allow LGBTQ asylum-seekers to be in the U.S. as they continue their asylum proceedings. Every single minute they are in Mexico, their lives are at risk due to violent threats and abuse they have endured because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

2. End the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (or “Remain in Mexico” Program) that forces asylum-seekers, including LGBTQ and other vulnerable migrants, to survive in the streets of Mexican border towns with little to no resources to protect themselves.
    

For weeks now, the U.S. Government has forced a group of LGBTQ asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for their day in U.S. court. This group and other vulnerable populations are forced to remain in Mexico with little to no resources to survive and protect themselves because of the Trump Administration's so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” policy, also known as “Remain in Mexico.”

On Sept. 1, 2019, after being subjected to threats and abuse in Mexico, a group of LGBTQ migrants, community organizers, and movement lawyers mobilized and walked together to the Brownsville, Texas, port of entry demanding that this group be taken out of the MPP program. Migrants and their lawyer met with Brownsville Port Director Castillo to allow them to enter the U.S. to pursue their asylum claims and to release them from custody immediately upon entry. The group was questioned and taken into the custody of Director Castillo who assured advocates that he would do what he could to help them. However, only a few days later, the entire LGBTQ group was returned to Mexico and told they did not have enough evidence to be exempt from MPP— an erroneous and unacceptable decision given the tragic and gruesome stories each of the LGBTQ asylum-seekers have endured at every step of their journey and during their time in Mexico.

While in Mexico, LGBTQ migrants and asylum-seekers are continuously terrorized by violent threats and abuse because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Under MPP's own policy, uniquely vulnerable populations should be excluded and allowed to live safely in the U.S. while they continue their asylum proceedings. However, CBP routinely forces such vulnerable populations, including LGBTQ asylum-seekers, to remain in some of the most dangerous cities in Mexico with complete disregard for their safety and humanity.

MPP should be immediately discontinued as it puts the lives of asylum-seekers, including LGBTQ community members, young children, and others at further risk of abuse and threats. This U.S. policy is sending migrants into dangerous situations where they are often targeted and exploited by organized crime and even government officials. The MPP program violates the legal and human rights of all asylum seekers. While we work to put an end to this horrific program, CBP should at the very minimum follow the program's own policy of excluding vulnerable populations, such as LGBTQ migrants. CBP has the authority to allow the LGBTQ group to enter the U.S. and pursue their asylum case from U.S. soil.

We are calling on Brownsville Port Director Tater Ortiz and Chief Jaime Castillo to accept the LGBTQ migrants to enter the U.S. to pursue their asylum claims and to release them from custody immediately upon entry.

Sign this petition now to support our demands!

Contact: Dani Marrero Hi, dani@texascivilrightsproject.org | Mony Ruiz-Velasco, mony@pasoaction.org