Being Black on the Border

The U.S-Mexico border is a war zone. 

Thousands in tent camps. No running water or health services. A 24/7 threat of murder and kidnapping. It’s hard for me to try and describe in a few words what I saw – how atrocious the conditions for migrants are in Tijuana, Mexico. Unfortunately, they get even worse if you are Black. 

Why is this happening?

For some context, Trump shut down the border and therefore any legal entry from Mexico to the U.S in January 2019. This meant refugees and asylum seekers were forced to stay in Mexico. The policy was known as the “Migrant Protection Protocol” or MPP, and the Biden administration has reinstated it as well. Many of these border towns where asylum seekers are forced to reside while waiting for their court dates are labeled by the U.S State Department itself as Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory zones for “extreme violence, crime, and kidnapping.”

While this new policy was dangerous for all migrants, many Black migrants from African nations and the Caribbean who find themselves at this border are confronted with unique challenges. Black, Afro-Latinx, and Indigenous folks in Mexico face language barriers, discrimination in getting employment papers or housing, social exclusion, and racist abuse by immigration officials, other migrants, and Mexicans themselves.

The Reality

When speaking with Mexicans in Tijuana, many told me they are resentful of the migrants “taking” their jobs and resources as they say. When it comes to Black migrants, the anti-blackness that already exists in Latin America mixes with this anti-immigrant sentiment, and discrimination on a day to day basis becomes extreme.

Many immigrants, most notably Haitians at this time, are ending up in Mexico because they were originally welcomed into Latin America for cheap labor. But as things often end up in our capitalist world, once they were deemed unnecessary, they were driven out. Now they are left trying to enter the U.S on the basis of asylum, often because of discrimination. However, data shows that Haitian asylum cases have the second highest denial rate by the U.S government, behind Mexican nationals.  

And If They Do Make it Across? 

The discrimination Black migrants face is on both sides of the border. Data from March 2020 to June 2020 showed that 44% of families in immigration detention were Haitian. Black immigrants in the U.S are also at a greater risk of deportation, and more likely to receive longer ICE detention sentences with higher bonds.

In conclusion, the entire immigration system is broken, and the situation on the border is a human rights crisis. While the process for everyone is cruel, it is even more so if you are Black. 

Sources

https://www.openglobalrights.org/haitian-migration-through-the-western-hemisphere-a-racial-injustice-analysis/
https://reliefweb.int/report/mexico/putting-us-mexico-border-crisis-narrative-context
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html
https://www.raicestexas.org/2020/07/22/black-immigrant-lives-are-under-attack/

About Riane

Riane Pares-Kane is a recent university graduate pursuing a career in human rights, focusing on the migrant community. Riane has worked on both a small community level and an international level, embracing the ways in which we can learn from each other and unite against a common oppressor. She currently lives in Mexico and works remotely with 540WMain as a Social Media Specialist.

About Little Known Facts About (Black) American History

Little Known Facts About (Black) American History is an annual blog campaign curated by 540WMain that has a mission to promote and share little known facts about Black Americans everyday throughout the month of February. Now in its 5th year the campaign highlights the life and work of past and present day Black Americans that are overlooked or underrepresented in our conversations about American history.