Further Criminalization and Deterrence Tactics Will Drive More Migrant Suffering
EL PASO, TEXAS— Today, the Biden administration announced the Department of Justice will “direct additional prosecutors and support staff to increase federal immigration-related prosecutions” as part of a larger effort by the Justice Department to combat human trafficking.
In response, Marisa Limón Garza, Executive Director of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and New Mexico, said:
“Any decision by the Biden Administration to further criminalize parents, children, and individuals seeking safety at our border is a wasteful repetition of past mistakes. Instead, the administration should support immigrant survivors of trafficking, crime, and abuse, expand access to legal migration pathways, and implement greater due process safeguards to prevent future violations like family separation. Criminal charges for unauthorized entry and reentry are less about pursuing justice than a failed misadventure that comes with an actual human toll. We are long past the point where we can or should accept such unworkable, politically-minded gestures. Migrants are real people just seeking to contribute and thrive as part of our communities.”
In response, Gloria Amesquita, Legal Assistant with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and New Mexico, said:
“Ironically, the U.S. government's focus on deterrence has made human trafficking more profitable, attracting the criminal organizations that the Department of Justice now aims to dismantle. To effectively combat human trafficking, we need to move away from deterrence and work towards creating a modern and accessible immigration system. This includes raising the caps on U- and T-Visas so that immigrant survivors of crime and abuse can receive the assistance they need promptly. Additionally, we must establish a strong legal immigration system that allows people to enter the country through safe and organized processes, building upon existing pathways. Only by doing so can we make significant and lasting progress in the fight against human trafficking.”
Background on impact of this announcement on our work: Charges under sections 1325 and 1326, unauthorized entry and reentry respectively, are the most commonly prosecuted charges in federal courts. These make up the vast majority of the docket in federal courthouses at the border, like the one here in El Paso, at an annual cost of millions of our tax dollars. Despite all of these resources and effort, the government’s pursuit of these charges has never succeeded in deterring migration or helping craft a more orderly, safe, or humane border. Indeed, government overreach in prosecuting these charges has led to some of the worst abuses migrants have faced at the southern border – most notably the thousands of family separations stemming from ‘zero-tolerance’ – abuses organizations like ours confronted head on.
On our work with immigrant survivors of crime and abuse: Las Americas’ Crime Survivor Program has partnered with Las Americas Mexico to develop a screening process for identifying trafficking victims seeking to enter the U.S. from Mexico. We are currently testing and refining this tool with an ultimate aim to share it with migrant shelters in Mexico who wil flag potentially trafficked persons. Las Americas will then work to get them exemptions to entry through the CBP One process. In collaboration with area law enforcement and NGOs, we are also developing a similar screening tool and referral process in the U.S. to assist migrant survivors of trafficking get a full legal review to determine potential T-Visa eligibility.
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