What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better
-
0:02 - 0:03Twice a week,
-
0:03 - 0:05I drive from my home near Tijuana, Mexico,
-
0:06 - 0:09over the US border,
to my office in San Diego. -
0:09 - 0:13The stark contrast between the poverty
and desperation on one side of the border -
0:13 - 0:15and the conspicuous wealth on the other
-
0:15 - 0:16always feels jarring.
-
0:16 - 0:19But what makes this contrast
feel even starker -
0:19 - 0:23is when I pass by the building
that those of us who work on the border -
0:23 - 0:25unaffectionately refer to
as the black hole. -
0:25 - 0:27The black hole is the Customs
and Border Protection, -
0:27 - 0:29or CBP facility,
-
0:29 - 0:30at the San Ysidro port of entry,
-
0:30 - 0:33right next to a luxury outlet mall.
-
0:33 - 0:35It's also where, at any one time,
-
0:35 - 0:37there's likely 800 immigrants
-
0:37 - 0:40locked in freezing, filthy,
concrete cells below the building. -
0:41 - 0:43Up top: shopping bags and frappuccinos.
-
0:43 - 0:47Downstairs: the reality
of the US immigration system. -
0:47 - 0:50And it's where, one day
in September of 2018, -
0:50 - 0:52I found myself trying to reach Anna,
-
0:52 - 0:56a woman who CBP had recently separated
from her seven-year-old son. -
0:57 - 0:58I'm an immigration attorney
-
0:58 - 1:01and the policy and litigation director
of Al Otro Lado, -
1:01 - 1:05a binational nonprofit helping immigrants
on both sides of the US-Mexico border. -
1:06 - 1:09We'd met Anna several weeks earlier
at our Tijuana office, -
1:09 - 1:13where she explained that she feared
she and her son would be killed in Mexico. -
1:13 - 1:17So we prepared her for the process
of turning herself over to CBP -
1:17 - 1:18to ask for asylum.
-
1:19 - 1:22A few days after she'd gone
to the port of entry to ask for help, -
1:22 - 1:24we received a frantic phone call
-
1:24 - 1:26from her family members
in the United States, -
1:26 - 1:30telling us that CBP officials
had taken Anna's son from her. -
1:30 - 1:32Now, not that this should matter,
-
1:32 - 1:35but I knew that Anna's son
had special needs. -
1:35 - 1:36And once again,
-
1:36 - 1:39this news filled me with the sense
of panic and foreboding -
1:39 - 1:42that has unfortunately become
a hallmark of my daily work. -
1:42 - 1:45I had a signed authorization
to act as Anna's attorney, -
1:45 - 1:47so I rushed over to the port of entry
-
1:47 - 1:49to see if I could speak with my client.
-
1:49 - 1:52Not only would CBP officials
not let me speak to Anna, -
1:52 - 1:55but they wouldn't even tell me
if she was there. -
1:55 - 1:57I went from supervisor to supervisor,
-
1:57 - 2:00begging to submit evidence
of Anna's son's special needs, -
2:00 - 2:03but no one would even
talk to me about the case. -
2:03 - 2:06It felt surreal to watch
the shoppers strolling idly by -
2:06 - 2:09what felt like a life-and-death situation.
-
2:09 - 2:13After several hours
of being stonewalled by CBP, -
2:13 - 2:14I left.
-
2:14 - 2:15Several days later,
-
2:15 - 2:18I found Anna's son
in the foster-care system. -
2:18 - 2:20But I didn't know what happened to Anna
-
2:20 - 2:21until over a week later,
-
2:21 - 2:24when she turned up
at a detention camp a few miles east. -
2:24 - 2:27Now, Anna didn't have a criminal record,
-
2:27 - 2:30and she followed the law
when asking for asylum. -
2:30 - 2:33Still, immigration officials
held her for three more months, -
2:33 - 2:35until we could win her release
-
2:35 - 2:38and help her reunify with her son.
-
2:38 - 2:41Anna's story is not
the only story I could tell you. -
2:41 - 2:44There's Mateo, an 18-month-old boy,
-
2:44 - 2:46who was ripped from his father's arms
-
2:46 - 2:49and sent to a government shelter
thousands of miles away, -
2:49 - 2:52where they failed
to properly bathe him for months. -
2:52 - 2:53There's Amadou,
-
2:53 - 2:55an unaccompanied African child,
-
2:55 - 3:00who was held with adults for 28 days
in CBP's horrific facilities. -
3:01 - 3:03Most disturbingly, there's Maria,
-
3:03 - 3:07a pregnant refugee who begged
for medical attention for eight hours -
3:07 - 3:10before she miscarried in CBP custody.
-
3:10 - 3:13CBP officials held her
for three more weeks -
3:13 - 3:15before they sent her back to Mexico,
-
3:15 - 3:17where she is being forced to wait months
-
3:17 - 3:19for an asylum hearing
in the United States. -
3:20 - 3:24Seeing these horrors
day in and day out has changed me. -
3:24 - 3:26I used to be fun at parties,
-
3:26 - 3:29but now, I inevitably
find myself telling people -
3:29 - 3:32about how our government
tortures refugees at the border -
3:32 - 3:34and in the detention camps.
-
3:34 - 3:36Now, people try to change the subject
-
3:36 - 3:40and congratulate me for the great work
I'm doing in helping people like Anna. -
3:41 - 3:43But I don't know
how to make them understand -
3:43 - 3:46that unless they start fighting,
harder than they ever thought possible, -
3:46 - 3:50we don't know which of us
will be the next to suffer Anna's fate. -
3:50 - 3:53Trump's mass separations
of refugee families -
3:53 - 3:54at the southern border
-
3:54 - 3:56shocked the conscience of the world
-
3:56 - 3:59and woke many to the cruelties
of the US immigration system. -
3:59 - 4:00It seems like today,
-
4:00 - 4:04more people than ever are involved
in the fight for immigrant rights. -
4:04 - 4:07But unfortunately, the situation
is just not getting better. -
4:08 - 4:11Thousands protested
to end family separations, -
4:11 - 4:13but the government
is still separating families. -
4:13 - 4:16More than 900 children
have been taken from their parents -
4:16 - 4:18since June of 2018.
-
4:18 - 4:22Thousands more refugee children
have been taken from their grandparents, -
4:22 - 4:25siblings and other
family members at the border. -
4:25 - 4:26Since 2017,
-
4:26 - 4:30at least two dozen people have died
in immigration custody. -
4:30 - 4:33And more will die, including children.
-
4:34 - 4:37Now, we lawyers can
and will keep filing lawsuits -
4:37 - 4:41to stop the government
from brutalizing our clients, -
4:41 - 4:43but we can't keep tinkering
around the edges of the law -
4:43 - 4:46if we want migrants
to be treated humanely. -
4:47 - 4:51This administration would have you believe
that we have to separate families -
4:51 - 4:52and we have to detain children,
-
4:52 - 4:56because it will stop more refugees
from coming to our borders. -
4:56 - 4:57But we know that this isn't true.
-
4:57 - 4:59In fact, in 2019,
-
4:59 - 5:02the number of apprehensions
at our southern border -
5:02 - 5:03has actually gone up.
-
5:03 - 5:05And we tell people
every day at the border, -
5:05 - 5:08"If you seek asylum in the United States,
-
5:08 - 5:09you risk family separation,
-
5:09 - 5:12and you risk being detained indefinitely."
-
5:12 - 5:15But for many of them,
the alternative is even worse. -
5:16 - 5:20People seek refuge in the United States
for a lot of different reasons. -
5:20 - 5:23In Tijuana, we've met refugees
from over 50 countries, -
5:23 - 5:25speaking 14 different languages.
-
5:25 - 5:28We meet LGBT migrants
from all over the world -
5:28 - 5:31who have never been in a country
in which they feel safe. -
5:31 - 5:33We meet women from all over the world
-
5:33 - 5:36whose own governments
refuse to protect them -
5:36 - 5:39from brutal domestic violence
or repressive social norms. -
5:40 - 5:42Of course, we meet
Central American families -
5:42 - 5:43who are fleeing gang violence.
-
5:44 - 5:46But we also meet Russian dissidents,
-
5:46 - 5:47Venezuelan activists,
-
5:47 - 5:51Christians from China, Muslims from China,
-
5:51 - 5:53and thousands and thousands
of other refugees -
5:53 - 5:56fleeing all types
of persecution and torture. -
5:57 - 6:00Now, a lot of these people
would qualify as refugees -
6:00 - 6:03under the international legal definition.
-
6:03 - 6:06The Refugee Convention
was created after World War II -
6:06 - 6:09to give protection to people
fleeing persecution -
6:09 - 6:14based on their race, religion,
nationality, political opinion -
6:14 - 6:16or membership
in a particular social group. -
6:16 - 6:20But even those who would be refugees
under the international definition -
6:20 - 6:23are not going to win asylum
in the United States. -
6:23 - 6:25And that's because since 2017,
-
6:25 - 6:29the US Attorneys General have made
sweeping changes to asylum law, -
6:29 - 6:33to make sure that less people qualify
for protection in the United States. -
6:33 - 6:36Now these laws are mostly aimed
at Central Americans -
6:36 - 6:38and keeping them out of the country,
-
6:38 - 6:41but they affect other types
of refugees as well. -
6:41 - 6:45The result is that the US
frequently deports refugees -
6:45 - 6:48to their persecution and death.
-
6:49 - 6:53The US is also using detention
to try to deter refugees -
6:53 - 6:55and make it harder for them
to win their cases. -
6:55 - 7:00Today, there are over 55,000 immigrants
detained in the United States, -
7:00 - 7:03many in remote detention facilities,
-
7:03 - 7:05far from any type of legal help.
-
7:05 - 7:07And this is very important.
-
7:07 - 7:10Because it's civil
and not criminal detention, -
7:10 - 7:12there is no public defender system,
-
7:12 - 7:15so most detained immigrants
are not going to have an attorney -
7:15 - 7:16to help them with their cases.
-
7:17 - 7:19An immigrant who has an attorney
-
7:19 - 7:22is up to 10 times more likely
to win their case -
7:22 - 7:23than one who doesn't.
-
7:24 - 7:27And as you've seen, I hate
to be the bearer of bad news, -
7:27 - 7:30but the situation is even worse
for refugee families today -
7:30 - 7:33than it was during family separation.
-
7:33 - 7:35Since January of 2019,
-
7:35 - 7:37the US has implemented a policy
-
7:37 - 7:41that's forced over 40,000 refugees
to wait in Mexico -
7:41 - 7:44for asylum hearings in the United States.
-
7:44 - 7:47These refugees, many of whom are families,
-
7:47 - 7:50are trapped in some of the most
dangerous cities in the world, -
7:50 - 7:52where they're being raped, kidnapped
-
7:52 - 7:54and extorted by criminal groups.
-
7:54 - 7:58And if they survive for long enough
to make it to their asylum hearing, -
7:58 - 8:01less than one percent of them
are able to find an attorney -
8:01 - 8:03to help them with their cases.
-
8:04 - 8:09The US government will point
to the lowest asylum approval rates -
8:09 - 8:11to argue that these people
are not really refugees, -
8:11 - 8:15when in fact, US asylum law
is an obstacle course -
8:15 - 8:17designed to make them fail.
-
8:17 - 8:20Now not every migrant
at the border is a refugee. -
8:20 - 8:22I meet plenty of economic migrants.
-
8:22 - 8:25For example, people who want to go
to the United States to work, -
8:25 - 8:27to pay medical bills for a parent
-
8:27 - 8:30or school fees for a child back home.
-
8:30 - 8:33Increasingly, I'm also meeting
climate refugees. -
8:33 - 8:37In particular, I'm meeting
a lot of indigenous Central Americans -
8:37 - 8:39who can no longer
sustain themselves by farming, -
8:39 - 8:42due to catastrophic drought in the region.
-
8:42 - 8:44We know that today,
-
8:44 - 8:47people are migrating
because of climate change, -
8:47 - 8:49and that more will do so in the future,
-
8:49 - 8:53but we simply don't have a legal system
to deal with this type of migration. -
8:54 - 8:57So, it would make sense, as a start,
-
8:57 - 8:59to expand the refugee definition
-
8:59 - 9:02to include climate refugees, for example.
-
9:02 - 9:04But those of us in a position
to advocate for those changes -
9:05 - 9:06are too busy suing our government
-
9:06 - 9:10to keep the meager legal protections
that refugees enjoy under the current law. -
9:10 - 9:12And we are exhausted,
-
9:12 - 9:15and it's almost too late to help.
-
9:16 - 9:17And we know now
-
9:17 - 9:19that this isn't America's problem alone.
-
9:19 - 9:22From Australia's brutal
offshore detention camps -
9:23 - 9:28to Italy's criminalization of aid
to migrants drowning in the Mediterranean, -
9:28 - 9:31first-world countries
have gone to deadly lengths -
9:31 - 9:33to keep refugees from reaching our shores.
-
9:34 - 9:37But they've done more
than restrict the refugee definition. -
9:37 - 9:40They've created parallel,
fascist-style legal systems -
9:40 - 9:44in which migrants have none of the rights
that form the basis of a democracy, -
9:44 - 9:48the alleged foundation of the countries
in which they're seeking refuge. -
9:49 - 9:51History shows us that the first group
-
9:51 - 9:55to be vilified and stripped
of their rights is rarely the last, -
9:55 - 9:57and many Americans and Europeans
-
9:57 - 10:01seem to accept an opaque
and unjust legal system for noncitizens, -
10:01 - 10:03because they think they are immune.
-
10:03 - 10:04But eventually,
-
10:04 - 10:08these authoritarian ideals bleed over
and affect citizens as well. -
10:09 - 10:10I learned this firsthand
-
10:10 - 10:13when the US government placed me
on an illegal watch list -
10:13 - 10:16for my work helping
immigrants at the border. -
10:16 - 10:18One day, in January of 2019,
-
10:18 - 10:20I was leaving my office in San Diego
-
10:20 - 10:23and crossing the border
to go back to my home in Mexico. -
10:24 - 10:27Mexican officials, although they had
given me a valid visa, -
10:27 - 10:30stopped me and told me
that I couldn't enter the country -
10:30 - 10:34because a foreign government
had placed a travel alert on my passport, -
10:34 - 10:36designating me
as a national security risk. -
10:36 - 10:40I was detained and interrogated
in a filthy room for hours. -
10:40 - 10:41I begged the Mexican officials
-
10:42 - 10:44to let me go back to Mexico
and pick up my son, -
10:44 - 10:47who was only 10 months old at the time.
-
10:48 - 10:49But they refused,
-
10:49 - 10:51and instead, they turned me over
to CBP officials, -
10:51 - 10:54where I was forced back
into the United States. -
10:54 - 10:57It took me weeks to get another visa
so that I could go back to Mexico, -
10:57 - 11:00and I went to the border, visa in hand.
-
11:00 - 11:02But again, I was detained and interrogated
-
11:02 - 11:05because there was still
a travel alert on my passport. -
11:06 - 11:07Shortly after,
-
11:07 - 11:09leaked internal CBP documents
-
11:09 - 11:11confirmed that my own government
-
11:11 - 11:14had been complicit in issuing
this travel alert against me. -
11:15 - 11:18And since then, I haven't traveled
to any other countries, -
11:18 - 11:19because I'm afraid I'll be detained
-
11:19 - 11:22and deported from those countries as well.
-
11:22 - 11:25These travel restrictions, detentions
-
11:25 - 11:27and separation from my infant son
-
11:27 - 11:31are things I never thought
I would experience as a US citizen, -
11:31 - 11:35but I'm far from the only person
being criminalized for helping immigrants. -
11:35 - 11:38The US and other countries
have made it a crime to save lives, -
11:39 - 11:41and those of us who are simply
trying to do our jobs -
11:41 - 11:45are being forced to choose
between our humanity and our freedom. -
11:45 - 11:47And the thing that makes me so desperate
-
11:47 - 11:50is that all of you
are facing the same choice, -
11:50 - 11:52but you don't understand it yet.
-
11:53 - 11:55And I know there are
good people out there. -
11:55 - 11:57I saw thousands of you in the streets,
-
11:57 - 11:59protesting family separation.
-
11:59 - 12:03And that largely helped
bring about an end to the official policy. -
12:04 - 12:06But we know that the government
is still separating children. -
12:06 - 12:09And things are actually getting worse.
-
12:09 - 12:11Today, the US government
is fighting for the right -
12:11 - 12:15to detain refugee children
indefinitely in prison camps. -
12:16 - 12:17This isn't over.
-
12:17 - 12:20We cannot allow ourselves
to become numb or look away. -
12:21 - 12:23Those of us who are citizens of countries
-
12:23 - 12:27whose policies cause detention,
separation and death, -
12:27 - 12:30need to very quickly decide
which side we're on. -
12:30 - 12:35We need to demand that our laws respect
the inherent dignity of all human beings, -
12:35 - 12:39especially refugees
seeking help at our borders, -
12:39 - 12:42but including economic migrants
and climate refugees. -
12:43 - 12:46We need to demand
that refugees get a fair shot -
12:46 - 12:48at seeking protection in our countries
-
12:48 - 12:50by ensuring that they have
access to council -
12:50 - 12:52and by creating independent courts
-
12:52 - 12:55that are not subject
to the political whims of the president. -
12:56 - 12:58I know it's overwhelming,
-
12:58 - 13:00and I know this sounds cliché, but ...
-
13:01 - 13:04we need to call
our elected representatives -
13:04 - 13:05and demand these changes.
-
13:06 - 13:08I know you've heard this before,
-
13:08 - 13:10but have you made the call?
-
13:10 - 13:12We know these calls make a difference.
-
13:13 - 13:17The dystopian immigration systems
being built up in first-world countries -
13:17 - 13:19are a test of citizens
-
13:19 - 13:23to see how far you're willing
to let the government go -
13:23 - 13:27in taking away other people's rights
when you think it won't happen to you. -
13:27 - 13:30But when you let the government
take people's children -
13:30 - 13:32without due process
-
13:32 - 13:35and detain people indefinitely
without access to council, -
13:35 - 13:37you are failing the test.
-
13:37 - 13:39What's happening to immigrants now
-
13:39 - 13:43is a preview of where we're all headed
if we fail to act. -
13:43 - 13:45Thank you.
-
13:45 - 13:50(Applause)
- Title:
- What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better
- Speaker:
- Erika Pinheiro
- Description:
-
At the US-Mexico border, policies of prolonged detention and family separation have made seeking asylum in the United States difficult and dangerous. In this raw and heartfelt talk, immigration attorney Erika Pinheiro offers a glimpse into her daily work on both sides of the border and shares some of the stories behind the statistics -- including her own story of being detained and separated from her son. It's a clear-eyed call to remember the humanity that's impacted by policy -- and a warning: "History shows us that the first population to be vilified and stripped of their rights is rarely the last," she says.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 14:03
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better | ||
Brian Greene approved English subtitles for What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better | ||
Krystian Aparta accepted English subtitles for What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better | ||
Ivana Korom edited English subtitles for What's really happening at the US-Mexico border -- and how we can do better |