Statement on Violence at the US-Mexico Border

Statement on Violence at the US-Mexico Border

MICHIGAN PEACE TEAM STATEMENT ON THE VIOLENCE AT THE US-MEXICO BORDER:

As people of conscience, we are opposed:
- to the structural violence of our current militarized border enforcement strategy,
- to the violence by armed civilian patrol groups, and
- to the use of weapons by both civilians in vigilante patrols, such as the Minute Men and the Yuma Patriots and the Border Patrols to intimidate and harm others

and we are deeply concerned about: - the suffering and deaths of migrants who try to enter the United States in search of work. - the climate of hate and fear towards immigrants in our country that can lead to violence and justification of abuses of others.

Our vision as MPT is "We seek a just world grounded in nonviolence and respect for the sacred interconnectedness of all life." We have a moral imperative that transcends borders, celebrates the contributions immigrant peoples bring, and compels us to build relationships that are grounded in justice and love.

Michigan Peace Team supports the principles of immigration reform put forth by the coalition No More Deaths/No Mas Muertos:

We recognize that root causes of migration lie in economic injustice and trade inequities. Experiences of Mexico and countries further south demonstrate that current trade and aid strategies that are based on greed and lack of basic respect deeply and negatively impact workers, their families, and the environments in migrants' homelands. This is forcing a quest-for-survival based migration of unparalleled proportions. International agreements must be negotiated in ways that build mutual and just relationships.

The current Militarized Border Enforcement Strategy is a failed policy. Since 1998 more than 2000 migrants - men, women, and children - have lost their lives in the deserts of the US-Mexico borderlands trying to make their way into the United States. These tragic and unnecessary deaths must stop. The militarized border blockade strategy on the US-Mexico border drives migrants into remote desert regions, but has failed to stem the flow of immigrants into the United States. Further, the fragile desert environment has sustained severe damage as a result of migrants moving through remote desert regions and responding enforcement patrols.

Therefore, we strive to place trained peace teams at the border to prevent and deter violence from its many sources.

We join with immigrant solidarity groups to organize events that give voice to the needs of immigrants.

We also speak out in favor of immigration laws that - Address the status of undocumented persons currently living in the US. Workers and their families currently living in the US must have access to a program of legalization that offers equity-building paths to permanent residency and eventual citizenship for workers and their families. Legalizing the undocumented workforce helps stabilize that workforce as well as their families.

- Allow workers and their families to enter the US to live and work in a safe, legal, orderly, and humane manner through an Employment-Focused immigration program. International workers' rights must be recognized and honored in ways that protect: the basic right to organize and collectively bargain, individual workers' religious freedoms, job portability, easy and safe travel between the US and homelands, achievable and verifiable paths to residency, and a basic human right of mobility.