Cutting Through the Noise: A Whirlwind Tour at the Mexican Border

There is persistent noise and confusion surrounding the plight of migrants seeking to enter the United States. At the invitation of former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Tahirih Justice Center’s Atlanta office, we, along with a delegation of other lawyers, grant-makers and community advocates took a whirlwind tour of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, last November, to get a look for ourselves. 

We toured Otero Detention Center, an all-male ICE facility (where the average detainee’s age is mid-20s); the detention center’s immigration court; the El Paso Immigration Court; nonprofit and advocacy organizations that provide housing, support and legal assistance; a “know your rights” presentation in a Mexican government building to asylum-seekers by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS); as well as a Juarez tent city and shelter. The trip did not so much surprise us, given our experience here in Georgia representing detained and nondetained asylum seekers and U and T visa applicants. But, some of what we witnessed and learned has stuck with us since November.