Thousands Expected at El Paso March and Rally Opposing Trump’s “Wall of Hate”
EL PASO, Texas - Thousands of activists and border area residents will take to the streets near an international crossing in El Paso SATURDAY, JANUARY 26 for a massive march and rally opposing President Donald Trump’s proposed wall and in support of meaningful and humane immigration reform. While Washington power brokers continue the budget stalemate resulting in the longest government shutdown in history, border residents and activists are demanding no money be allocated toward the construction of a border wall that a majority of Americans oppose, according to most polls. “We are the people on the ground and we are the people who know that the idea of a ‘Wall of Hate’ spanning the length of the Mexico/U.S. border is wasteful and morally bankrupt,” said Fernando Garcia of the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR), one of the largest immigrant rights organization in the Southwest. “This is an artificial crisis created by the President. Cities at the border like El Paso, are the safest cities in the country.” The number of total immigrants arrested at the border is at an all-time low, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistics. Apprehensions at the southern border went from 1.6 million in FY 2000 to under 400,000 in FY 2018, even with twice as many Border Patrol personnel. Unauthorized immigrant populations residing in the U.S. are declining and have been for close to a decade. Furthermore, El Paso has consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in the U.S., according to crime data gathered for reports by insurance and realty companies. In June, El Paso was deemed the second safest city in a “50 Safest Metro Cities in America – 2017” according to a report published by SafeWise, a home-security and safety brand. The BNHR, is a grassroots community organization which has been denouncing abuse against immigrants since the 1990s and working alongside law enforcement and elected officials to improve the treatment of immigrants and refugees at the border. Last year, BNHR stepped into action demanding the U.S. Department of Justice end its inhumane treatment of immigrants and refugees, including the separation of more than 2,800 children from their families as part of the Trump Administration’s Zero Tolerance policy, the erosion of refugee programs by the U.S. Department of State, and the attempts to deny refugees the right to apply for asylum at the border. The march will begin near downtown El Paso and continue toward an international port of entry located near the site of an ongoing border wall construction. There, the marchers plan to also denounce and oppose the construction of Trump’s racist monument, the militarization of the region and will call for a humane and inclusive immigration reform that protects and integrates Dreamers, Temporary Protective Status (TPS) beneficiaries, and domestic violence victims. The Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR), founded in 1998, is one of the leading human rights advocacy and immigration reform organizations located at the U.S./Mexico Border. BNHR has over 7,000 members in West Texas and Southern New Mexico.
WHAT: March and rally opposing border wall. WHEN: NOON - SATURDAY, JANUARY 26, 2019 WHERE: The mobilization will start at San Jacinto Plaza (111 W. Mills), will stop at the Santa Fe International Port of Entry, and will end in Chihuahuita (106 Calleros Ct) with a rally and demonstration near the site of ongoing border wall construction. WHO: The Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR), other local advocates
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