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It is time to be our own heroes once again, if we are to have a realistic chance of reaching freedom in the U.S. We have shown tremendous resilience against all attempts to hold or turn us back by Trump and the Mexican government, especially after Thursday’s raid by Obrador’s police, but we remain firm. Obrador wants to “help us” self-deport back to our countries to spend Christmas with our families in Central America and stay to suffer what we have been fleeing from, but we made this trip not as a short vacation, but to reach safety in the US. Crossing the border ourselves is our best chance. There is no wall, no “Remain in Mexico” policy, no dirty deal between sellout politicians, and definitely no Tyrant that can keep us from reaching freedom in the U.S. if we keep moving.

The Raid on Benito Juarez Has Made Us Stronger Not Weaker

From the moment that the first policeman put his hands on the first tent he took down it was clear that we could defeat President Obrador’s policy of trying to keep us indefinitely bottled up in Tijuana. Why? Because that single night’s action showed the people of Mexico who President Obrador really is and what his actual aims are. For months, President Obrador claimed to be a “humanitarian” concerned about the wellbeing of the refugees in the caravans. He claimed to be the champion of Mexican independence from the United States, the one leader in the region capable of getting aid for the countries of Central America. At 3:00am on December 20, President Obrador showed the Mexican people that in action he is nothing more than the meek and dutiful servant of Donald Trump.

The raid was an over reach, a cowardly act of desperation. It has lowered President Obrador’s standing with the people of Mexico. The only way he can restore his reputation and win back the trust of millions of Mexicans is to stand up to Donald Trump and demand that he open the borders now. The only other choice open to Obrador is to continue to act as Trump’s director of ICE and head border guard in Mexico.

The police raid to clear the tents near Benito Juarez had to be conducted at 3:00 am in the morning. President Obrador and his Tijuana henchmen understood that an attack against us in broad daylight would rally more people in Mexico to support our march. The people of Mexico know that we are fleeing to America to escape the brutality from both the gangs and governments of our countries who suppress our democratic rights and deny us freedom on a daily basis. Television reports and postings on social media of Mexican police forcibly dragging women and children out of their tents and then destroying or confiscating our tents during the day or early evening would have sparked hundreds of other caravan members and thousands of Mexican citizens to rush to the Benito Juarez area to protect us from President Obrador’s goons. Even though the police raid occurred at night and received far to little publicity, it has diminished Obrador’s authority with his supporters and made him more likely to respond favorably to our demands.

For weeks we have placed our demands on President Obrador because he is the weakest link in the chain of Trump border guards assigned to carry out Trump’s policy of keeping Central American refugees out of the United States.  Trump knows that if we make it to the United States we can both make our individual powerful and strong cases for asylum, while showing the world that the gangs and governments of our country are completely tied together. Working in tandem, the governments and gangs of the nations we are fleeing defend the right of American businesses to exploit our nations by brutally suppressing our right to freedom, equality and democratic rights. Trump also knows that he is limited in what he can do directly to stop the march of the caravans. Trump needs Obrador to do his dirty work for him.

Our strategy of placing demands on Obrador and the Mexican government for everything from food, bathrooms, cleaning supplies etc. to safe and immediate entry into the United States, is still the best way we have to achieve our aims.We have been successful in winning some concessions but have needed to add greater forces to our side to stop Obrador from acting as Trump’s director of ICE in Mexico.

Many of us feel vulnerable and weak because we were brutalized by the police. However, we are actually in a much stronger position now than we were before we were forcibly uprooted because more and more Mexican citizens are prepared to turn their passive or limited support for our movement into active support for our cause. The vast majority of people in Mexico support our struggle.They know that if we win, they win. If we lose, then every one of their undocumented family members living in the United States will face increased ICE terror. More Mexicans living in the United States will be deported and the countless number of Mexicans who want to flee the violence and poverty of Mexico will have almost no chance of entering and staying in America. Millions of people who voted for Obrador cannot and will not support President Obrador’s turning Mexico into a giant Mexican-funded detention center for the United States. Our demands on Obrador to stop allowing Trump to bully him and to act like the defender of Mexican sovereignty and independence and the champion of the caravans is now being echoed by people in Mexico. Obrador’s popularity and authority will drop if continues to be Trump’s servant.

We can win our rights to asylum in the United States if we understand the strength of our position, and use this moment to force a weakened Mexican government to stand up for the people of Mexico and the members of the caravan, and demand that Trump summon the personnel and provide the resources needed to let the people of the caravan into the United States now. We can prevent President Obrador from acquiescing to President Trump’s illegal and unviable plan to have refugees who apply for asylum in the United States sent back to Mexico. We can end the current policy of the Mexican government to make members of the caravans wait years to even get into the United States to file their asylum claims. If we stick together and keep fighting we will turn years of waiting into days and we can make sure that after we apply for asylum we can stay in the United States. There are too many of us to house in detention centers. Fighting and crossing together as one unified mass, we can assure that we all receive parole or bond so that we can stay in the United States free from detention and gather the evidence we need to win our cases.

Trump and his entire presidency is in limbo, his corrupt lawyers are being sent to jail and his organizations shut down for corruption, the U.S. government is in shut down because Trump could not get his money for the wall, which is opposed by the great majority of people in the U.S. His only strength continues to be his racist threats to take illegal actions. The only reason he is getting away with preventing the caravans from exercising our legal right to seek asylum in the U.S. is because of a shamelessly obedient Mexican president, Lopez Obrador, doing his dirty work. 

The very day that in the U.S., the Director of Homeland Security, Nielsen was being questioned in Congress for the actions of border patrol at the US-Mexico border, including the murder of 7 years old Jakelin Caal Maquin under the supervision of border patrol, Nielsen made a desperate attempt to save her job with Trump by announcing in an unofficial manner that the U.S. had agreed to a “unilateral” agreement with Lopez Obrador to implement their “Remain in Mexico” policy. The same day early in the morning, Lopez Obrador showed his real attitude with the caravan by forcefully removing the encampment at Benito Juarez. Men, women and children were abruptly awakened in the middle of the night at 3 in the morning. Police pulled people out of their tents by their legs, denied their right to even gather their belongings. People lost their clothes, their money, their identity and other legal documents that could have helped them with their asylum case. Over 160 people were forced to move to el barretal, those who resisted were arrested and later released. Both actions have been denounced in the U.S. and Mexico as illegal and inhumane.

Obrador’s treatment of the street encampment near Benito Juarez are the desperate and violent actions of a president who is willing to bow down to the United States and to treat immigrants with the same kind of inhumanity and brutality that we are fleeing from. At the same time that some members of Obrador’s government make public statements about how they’ll be” forced to accept” non Mexican migrants who wait for their asylum cases and give false promises of health services, education and work visas for migrants, which Mexico cannot even provide for their own citizens. Other members of Obrador’s government like the Director of Mexican immigration, Tonatiuh, say that Mexico has not the resources to provide migrants with benefits, nor the capacity for shelter. To say that Mexico can provide safety along one of the Mexican border cities, that are world-renown for cartel and gang violence, where migrants are targets, is delusional. Lopez Obrador himself remains conveniently silent on the biggest humanitarian crisis of the western hemisphere, letting his government officials speak from both sides of their mouth. 

During his presidential campaign Obrador gained popularity and support from the Mexican people by criticizing Trump, calling Trump a “neo-fascist” and even publishing a book called “Listen up Trump” criticizing Trump’s treatment of Mexicans like Hitler treated Jews. This is the president the people of Mexico though they were voting for. The president who stood up to the most vicious racist president who called Mexicans rapists and drug criminals. They did not think Obrador would soon after winning his election completely change his attitude towards Trump like sending a letter in July 2018 praising Trump and highlighting the fact that they both “…managed to put our voters and the citizens at the center, and displace the political establishment.” Trump’s voters are racists who see America as a white nation and entrust Trump with his plan of persecution and mass deportations of immigrants especially those from central America and Mexico. These are not the type of voters who supported Obrador, these are the people who are giving food to the caravan, opening their doors to house migrants and who rightly oppose this illegal and racist policy of denying asylum seekers entry into the U.S. 

We must remind Obrador whose side he should be on and make clear that he cannot help Trump with these policies. He cannot get away with this, unless we accept them waiting with crossed arms. We can defeat them and moving forward is the best way. The mega caravan is taking off from Honduras in January, let’s set an example for them, not wait for them to arrive and increase this already deteriorating humanitarian crisis.

How to Prepare to Seek Asylum in the United States

The new deal between Trump and Obrador will likely result in a small number of caravan asylum seekers being sent back to Mexico while their case is being processed. However, the vast majority of asylum seekers who enter the U.S. will not be sent back to Mexico. The safest way to proceed is to cross the border.

People who cross the border on their own, without the permission of the Border Patrol, have as much right to apply for asylum as people who surrender themselves. However, people who are picked up by ICE on U.S. soil and who tell ICE that they want asylum because they are afraid they will be killed if they return to their country of origin, will be treated as refugees, and given the right to have a bond hearing. Most asylum seekers who receive bond hearings and have a U.S. citizen or green-card holder sponsor, receive bond. Once an asylum seeker gets bond, he or she is released from detention and is free to prepare their asylum case from America. Asylum seekers who are free on bond, get a lawyer and have the time and freedom to prepare their asylum cases have much greater chance of winning their asylum claim. 

Anyone who tells an ICE officer at the border before they have crossed over in the United states, that they want asylum, will be considered an “arriving alien.” “Arriving aliens” have the right to apply for asylum, but do not have the right to be set free on bond and could spend years in detention. 

If you are a woman or a child, the most likely outcome of being picked up in the United States by ICE, is that you will be processed for asylum, and then set free. Women and children who pass their credible fear interview – which is 4 out of 5 women and children – are often either released by ICE directly or have an opportunity to receive bond from an immigration hearing judge. The Mexican government does not have the ability to take back asylum seekers who have made their way into the United States. 

Do Not sign up for the identification card for temporary asylum status in Mexico. Anyone who signs up for temporary asylum status in Mexico will never receive asylum in the United States. A refugee seeking asylum is only eligible for asylum in a single country. If you agree to asylum in Mexico, you will be forced to stay in Mexico or return to your home country. The one thing that is guaranteed is that you will never receive asylum in the U.S. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar and is your enemy. The only way to receive asylum in the United States once you have landed on U.S. soil. You cannot apply for asylum in the United States while living outside of the United States. Anyone who tells you that you can apply for asylum status in the U.S. while living in Mexico is lying to you.

What you need to say in your credible fear interview to win Asylum in the United States

While it is not very difficult for most people to pass a credible fear interview, it is extremely difficult to win asylum in the U.S. 

YOU MUST SAY you are coming to the United States only because you fear for your life in your country. 

DO NOT SAY: “we are not criminals, we are not ‘trouble-makers,’  DO NOT SAY: “we are simply hard working people seeking jobs and safety, a better future for ourselves and our children and families and we are escaping the lack of opportunities and gangs’ rampant violence in general.” Sadly, these obvious reasons are not enough and should not be presented as our arguments for seeking asylum.  The only argument you must repeat to the arresting immigration officer is that you fear for your life and cannot return home. Any other reason could be used as an excuse to deny your asylum.

While it is easier for women and children to receive asylum than men, it is critical for anyone applying to talk about the physical attacks they suffered by the gangs, husbands, boyfriends, etc. which forced them to leave. Almost no one receives asylum unless they can show that they were assaulted by a gang member, husband, etc. If you fail to say that you were assaulted by a gang member or husband, boyfriend because you are afraid of being retaliated against if you say anything, you will lose your asylum case. Do not hold back.  Don’t be afraid to tell the truth. Talk about every instance of abuse you have suffered and give as many details as possible on what happened to you. 

The best chance you have to meet the requirements of a credible fear interview and win asylum in the U.S. is if you can show you have been targeted because of your political opinion, or you are part of a social group persecuted because of your political affiliation, or discrimination based on sex or gender. You must think of the gangs not simply as gangs, but as a force being used by the government to repress democratic freedoms, to enforce policies that the government wants to enforce but cannot enforce legally itself.

For example, in Honduras and other places, the gangs are part of the government. Many people who are fleeing from Honduras are leaving their country because they face political repression by the government. They are not allowed to talk about union matters or to advocate for strikes or even to complain about terrible working conditions. Many people who stand up for themselves and speak out against the daily injustices they face, are the victims of gang harassment and attacks. 

For some of us, our political opinions and determination to stand up and express our opposition to injustice in words or in actions or both, have made us targets of the gangs’ violence and/or government repression. We are seen as dangerous threat by the gangs and “trouble makers” by the government. Others have been target of homophobic repression by gangs and/or government alike creating an impossible homophobic climate in our country.

THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT IF YOU HAVE:

• expressed your political opinion through your activity with a political party of opposition (LIBRE or PAC in Honduras) against the injustice, fraud and violent repression of the current government; 

• organized people to vote or took part in political protests and demonstrations that made you locally or nationally known and a target for government repression by police and the gangs.

• you have been confronted, physically attacked or threatened by the gangs or government officials.

• expressed opposition to gang violence, exploitation and harassment of community members or businesses.

• expressed your opinion in support of improvements in education, healthcare, defending the environment and communities against encroachment of corporations, better conditions of life.

You must show that you have been forced to leave the country because it’s no longer safe and the government did not help you, that nowhere in your country is safe for you to live anymore because of the extensive network of the gangs and government that are everywhere and work together, that your very life and those of your family members would be in danger if you returned.

A message in solidarity from the US to the people in the caravans

Mexicans, Central Americans and the majority of the people in the United States stand with the caravan and are united in our fight against the biggest threat to human rights in the US and the world, Donald Trump. We will continue to defend the right of people in the caravans to cross into the United States by any means necessary. We call on Obrador to be true to his promises and take the example of the millions of Mexican immigrants in the US now, who are standing up to Trump, defending the real interests and rights of the people of Mexico and Central and South America. We call on Obrador to make an unequivocal stand in words and actions to oppose Donald Trump’s racist treatment of the caravan and any cooperation with the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Mexico cannot serve the US as an extension of the US immigrant detention centers or concentration camps for migrants. Obrador must demand all the people in the caravans be let into the US to seek asylum immediately, no more waiting. The US has the resources to hire more immigration officers to process more people faster. Obrador must also demand that immigrants detained seeking asylum be granted parole immediately, no indefinite detention for asylum seekers, no ridiculous high bonds, which even most Americans could not afford.

The caravans are today composed of mostly central Americans, but tomorrow will be Mexicans and South Americans; its time for Obrador to behave like the leader of a vast sovereign nation, that more than any other nation in the continent, sets the tone for the kind of relationship the US has with Latin America. Trump does not sees Obrador and Mexico or any other nation in the Americas as equal, he sees him as inferior, as another person to exploit for his personal interests. At this very moment Trump’s interest is to deny asylum for the caravan in the US, to prevent future caravans from coming, and to save his weakened presidency. If Obrador has the courage to make true his campaign promises to his voters and defend Mexican sovereignty from Trump’s racist attacks, it will be impossible for Trump to deny entry into the US for asylum seekers coming in the caravans and Mexican immigrants who will inevitably join us.

To the people currently in Central America preparing for the next caravan, to the people who are debating if to join the long march for freedom, we say come. The vast majority of people in America will support all future caravans and the people of Mexico who have opened their doors will continue to do so as well. For those in the caravans stuck in Tijuana, we have lessons to encourage and prepare the next caravans. 

The first lesson is trust yourselves first and the power of the caravan on the move. Do not trust misleaders and organizations that pretend to be your friends while working with the government to slow you down and encourage you to stay in Mexico to work temporarily or to live permanently. The second and most important lesson is to head east towards the Texas border. The caravan tactic of security in numbers and power in the large groups can be best exercised in large areas of the Texas border. We cannot continue to be corralled in precarious shelters forced into by the government. Continuing our great march for freedom together in large numbers heading towards Texas and not stopping at the border, this is our best chance to reach freedom and safety in the U.S.

We wish the best of luck to those braving this great life challenge and know that we will do everything to support and fight with you. In the best words of one of the greatest American leaders in the fight against slavery and for freedom, Harriet Tubman, who helped black people escape brutal slavery from the American South and to seek freedom in the Northern cities:

“If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches, in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”

 -Harriet Tubman.

Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)

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