One of the deadliest tragedies involving migrants in the U.S.-Mexico border region occurred this week when over 40 people were found dead in an abandoned truck on the outskirts of San Antonio, Texas. The death toll has now surpassed 50 and includes at least 22 people from Mexico, seven from Guatemala, and two from Honduras.
This incalculable and preventable loss is the latest in a string of near daily deaths in the border region. Amid heightened border militarization and anti-asylum policies like Title 42 and MPP, people are forced to take increasingly dangerous measures in a desperate attempt to reach safety. These policies have now sent over two million people back to danger, which for many has been a death sentence.
Together with directly-impacted groups and partners in the border region, people of faith grieve the countless sacred lives that have been cut short by the U.S.’ fundamentally broken immigration system. The horrific tragedy in San Antonio is a moral stain on our nation that must prompt the Biden Administration and Congress to urgently provide safe pathways to seek refuge by restoring the U.S. asylum system and ending border militarization.
“Our hearts are broken once again”, said Luis Marcos, Co-Executive Director of Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim. “We have crossed these lands and colonial borders since time immemorial. We have inherent rights as Indigenous peoples of Abya Yala to maintain relationships of reciprocity with the land and our Indigenous relatives in the north of Turtle Island. Even the United Nations has recognized this right under Article 36 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN DRIP). The land knows us and we come from these lands yet, we suffer the greatest numbers of deaths at the colonial US – Mexico border. People may not recognize this because our identities as citizens of Maya and Indigenous nations are erased and invisibilized. This Indigenous erasure coupled with policies like family separations, MPP, and Title 42 continue to result in the deaths of Maya people and other Indigenous migrants forced to flee our homelands because of continuing colonial genocidal practices and extractive industries forcibly displacing us from our ancestral lands. Please don’t erase Indigenous peoples once again and understand that these tragedies are part and parcel of continuing genocidal policies we face north, south, east, and west. The U.S. must be held accountable for U.S. complicity with human rights violations and genocide in our homelands that cause us to flee and for the human rights violations perpetrated against us at colonial borders that we have crossed since time immemorial. In our worldview and cosmovision, every life is precious and we mourn the loss of each of those lost in this tragedy. The U.S. must end domestic and international policies that accelerate and perpetuate genocide and destruction here and in our ancestral lands.”
“We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who tragically lost their lives in San Antonio,” said Pedro Rios, Director of the US-Mexico Border Program of the American Friends Service Committee. “Safe avenues to migrate to the US don’t exist and racist policies effectively block asylum seekers from presenting asylum claims to US authorities, forcing them to use dangerous crossing methods. For decades, US policymakers have adopted border policies that use death as a deterrent, where a militarized response to people seeking safe harbor has resulted in needless suffering and increased loss of life. We must call on the Biden Administration and all Members of Congress to bring Title 42 to an end and stop any policies that would further block asylum for people seeking safety.”
“The news from San Antonio that nearly 50 migrants died inside a semi-truck once again reminds our nation of the cruel consequences of our unjust immigration system,” said Cynthia Gonzalez, Advocacy Coordinator for the St. Columban Mission for Justice, Peace and Ecology. “Once again, the surviving families, as well as the communities impacted by this injustice, must struggle to process their loved one’s untimely death because they were simply trying to build a dignified life. Policies like Title 42 and ‘Remain in Mexico,’ as well as the militarization of the US/MX border, prevent migrants from accessing their fundamental right to seek safety in our country. By creating a policy labyrinth that is nearly impossible to navigate, we force migrants into increasingly desperate situations that often makes them even more vulnerable to danger and criminal abuse. What happened in San Antonio is another reminder that an immigration system built without justice and mercy kills.”
“Our hearts are broken at news of the deaths of at least 50 migrants in San Antonio – each of them taking desperate measures in search of safety and security in the U.S.,” said Barbara Weinstein, Director, Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism. “We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of those who tragically lost their lives. As we say in Judaism, may their memories be for a blessing. Policies like Title 42 and ‘Remain in Mexico’ force migrants to use dangerous methods to access their right to seek safety in the U.S. The lives lost in San Antonio are just another reminder of our broken immigration system. We call on Congress and the Biden administration to take action to end Title 42 and ‘Remain in Mexico’ and restore asylum now.”
This horrible tragedy occurred as members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are meeting to discuss U.S. immigration and refugee policies and how we as a church should respond. The Rev. Ginna Bairby, Moderator of the Immigration Committee of the 225th (2022) General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shares these words: “I imagine each of you is as heartbroken and horrified as I am to hear this story. Please feel that heartbreak, that horror, and that rage. Let it take your breath away. Let it move you to tears. Holy anger and grief are the fire that makes our work possible. We conduct our business today with renewed commitment to the urgency and importance of this work to promote justice, fairness and protection of asylum seekers at our U.S. southern border.”
“We express our condolences to the victims and the families of those who’ve suffered in this tragic way neglected on the side of the road,” said Giovana Oaxaca, Program Director for Migration Policy with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. “Jesus implores us to look after the neighbor in need, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, reminding us to do as the Samaritan did for any one in need because each person is our neighbor. How many more times will our national conscience pass the migrant by without so much as looking at the person who’s made this journey or availing to understand why they would take such risks? Migrants undertake increasingly dangerous journeys—by land, by air, in some cases by sea, to seek refuge out of a desperate need to provide a better future but face unreasonable obstacle after unreasonable obstacle. Governments worldwide must be called to address unjust policies and hostile processes like Title 42 and other pushbacks, from the U.S-Mexico border to Melilla, Spain. Borders must be assessed from the viewpoint of the human rights and dignity of all migrants. We pray we take the necessary steps through policy and action to reverse Title 42 and establish a just and humane border enforcement.”
“We decry this senseless tragedy of the deaths of young Mexican, Guatemalan and Nicaraguan immigrants in San Antonio,” said Rabbi Joshua Lesser, President of Bridges Faith Initiative. “This tragedy is a direct result of the inhumane U.S. policies Title 42 and ‘Remain in Mexico’ that prevent legal and safe immigration. Our prayers are for the swift recovery and safety of the survivors of this tragedy. We pledge to redouble our efforts to push the U.S. government towards humane and Just immigration policies, so the memories of those who died will be a blessing and their goodness will be kept alive.”
“We Franciscans are anguished and angered to learn about the tragic deaths of more than 50 migrants who suffocated in an abandoned truck in San Antonio,” says Sr. Marie Lucey, Associate Director of Franciscan Action Network. “As people of faith we believe in the dignity and worth of all persons and strive to protect those who are most vulnerable. Desperate migrants flee unlivable conditions in their home countries seeking safety and a better life in the United States only to be deterred by cruel U.S. policies like Title 42 and MPP (Remain in Mexico). We grieve with the families of those who died. Punishing their traffickers is not enough. We continue to insist that our policymakers act to end Title 42 and MPP, and work to restore sane, humane asylum policies.”
“This tragedy is a sobering reminder: Immigration policy can be a matter of life or death,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. “As Jews, we have known this for decades. Many of our own families fled danger to find refuge in the United States, and many of our family members died after our country’s borders were closed to them. The deaths of hundreds crossing our southern border each year are the horrifying consequences of our broken immigration and asylum systems. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our leaders must act quickly to end immoral policies like Remain in Mexico and Title 42.”
“We grieve the profoundly tragic death of fifty migrants in Texas and offer prayer and lament for their families and loved ones. This is the entirely preventable result of our nation’s cruel and inhumane immigration system and deterrence policies that lead to death and hardship for migrants, “said Katie Adams, IIC Interim Co-Chair and Domestic Policy Advocate for the United Church of Christ. “ We must build an immigration system that offers safe harbor and welcome – we have the capability to do so – but must have the political will. How many more preventable deaths must be endured? How long before our government sees that each person is deserving of dignity and humanity and that must be reflected in our immigration policies? We call on the administration and Congress to act now to end Title 42 and offer a safe welcome for migrants.”
“We are horrified by this tragedy in San Antonio. This is the largest loss of immigrant lives on American soil this year, however, every day immigrants from Haiti and other Central American countries and from the African and Asian continents are dying because of U.S. policies like Title 42 and Remain in Mexico. These dangerous and inhumane policies must end so lives can be saved,” said Ronnate Asirwatham, Government Relations Director, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice. “We pray for those who died and their families, and for the survivors of yesterday’s tragedy to recover quickly and finally find safety in the United States. We also pray that all of our legislators’ and judges’ hearts will not be hardened and that they will work to prevent future tragedies by enacting policies that allow for safe immigration in the United States and respect the right to asylum.”
“The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has long implemented policies of militarization and deterrence that are designed to steer migrants to dangerous and perilous situations. These horrific strategies, based on the cruel thought that migrants will not come to the U.S. if they are tormented along their journey, are causing tens of thousands of deaths in the desert. Time has proven that deterrence policies do not work and instead, cause suffering and death. People fleeing for their lives and to protect their families will not defer their travel to stay where they will face fatal circumstances,” said Rev. Noel Andersen, Church World Service Director of Grassroots Organizing. “The ongoing misuse of public health code Title 42 follows this same flawed logic and continues to result in tragic deaths like that of the 50 individuals, including parents and children, who met an end of extreme suffering in the San Antonio trailer packed with migrants. It is morally atrocious that we have not yet restored our asylum policies and instead, allow migrants to suffer. We must end Title 42, as well as all anti-asylum policies, and restore welcome to those fleeing violence and persecution. We must create a humane reception process to provide hospitality that treats all with dignity and respect.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants. Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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