Countdown, 30 December 2020

President – Elect Biden pledged to halt deportation flights for 100 days.

We want him to do it permanently.

Some of us were talking this morning about how it is hard for people to get their minds around the enormity of the day-after-day deportation of humans from airports and across borders, taking place around us and being done in our name.

Tom Cartwright has written a letter to President-Elect Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden, and VP-Elect Kamala Harris.

DEATH FLIGHTS - WEEK OF 21 December

Ø Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas) – No

Ø Nochebueno (Christmas Eve) – 8 deportations

Ø Navidad (Christmas) – 2 deportations

Ø 8 Weeks with no flights to Honduras because of hurricanes Eta and Iota. Prior there were 4-5 per weeks.

Ø Lowest level of deportations to Guatemala (1) since the week of 1 June

What’s Next? Postcard Campaign

Postcard #2 (Mail January 5-8)

Never Again Child Detentions

There are people now on the verge of deportation, now in the last days of Trump and, perhaps, we are not yet sure, on into the age of a new administration whose commitment to asylum is not yet fully known.

Art by Melissa Bowen Rubin

DEATH FLIGHTS - WEEK OF 14 December. Photo: by Witness Florence: Omni Air (ICE Air) deportation to Africa.

Ø Lowest level of deportations (16) to Latin America and the Caribbean since the week of 9 August.

Ø 7 Weeks with no flights to Honduras because of hurricanes Eta and Iota. Prior there were 4-5 per weeks.

Ø Lowest level of deportations to Guatemala (2) since the week of 3 August.

Ø We will be very interested in # of encounters when reported for December. I think they may be flat to down, a contrarian guess.

Ø 16 deportation flights to 9 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean AND deportations to 5 African countries.

What’s Next? Postcard Campaign

Postcard #1 - End MPP

Mail December 15-18

This first postcard in a series is being sent to Joe & Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Alejandro Mayorkas (nominated to head Department of Homeland Security).

Image: Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Matamoros

DEATH FLIGHTS - WEEK OF 7 December – please share for transparency

Ø 6 WEEKS WITH NO FLIGHTS TO HONDURAS BECAUSE OF HURRICANES ETA AND IOTA. PRIOR WEEKS THERE WERE 4-5 PER WEEK.

Ø DEPORTATIONS TO GUATEMALA NOW ABOUT HALF OF WHAT THEY WERE LAST MONTH.

Ø ARE MORE PEOPLE BEING EXPELLED BY LAND TO MEXICO? OR WILL WE SEE ENCOUNTERS LOWER IN NOVEMBER WHEN REPORTED?

Ø STILL, 17 DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO 6 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.

Ø 86 TOTAL FLIGHTS, 5 BELOW THE LAST 6-MONTH AVERAGE

The closer they come, the harder it is to look away. That is why we place so many hurdles in the way of people who take to their feet and begin the long, slow march to save their lives. And the lives of their children.

Day 16 of 16 Days Of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign #16Days #OrangeTheWorld #GenerationEquality #RatifyILO190

For our final post of these 16 Days, we leave you with this general information, resources, statistics and this reminder: "When it comes to statistics relating to violence against women and children it’s important to know that you don’t have to be a math expert to understand the numbers. You simply have to be willing to recognize that each statistic represents a woman, child, or family — a life — torn apart by violence and abuse."

Day 15 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #orangetheworld #generationequality #ratifyILO190

The health of immigrant women in detention suffers. In the case of the women forced to have hysterectomies at the Irwin Detention Facility in Georgia the threat to their reproductive health came from the doctor assigned to care for them.

Day 14 of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign #OrangeTheWorld #RatifyILO190 #generationalequality

"Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14 of the 25 deadliest nations in the world for women. There is rarely justice. As many as 98 percent of gender-related killings go unprosecuted in Latin America, according to the United Nations."

Day 13 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #orangetheworld #generationequality #ratifyILO190

When I think about violence against women the acts that come to mind are rape, physical violence and verbal abuse. There are forms of abuse that may, on the surface, not look like violence but they are. I witnessed one of these subtler acts of violence at the El Paso airport last year.

NEW REPORT:

ICE Air Flights November and November 2020 Year to Date

DEATH FLIGHTS - WEEK OF 30 November – please share for transparency

Ø STILL NO FLIGHTS TO HONDURAS BECAUSE OF HURRICANES ETA AND IOTA. PRIOR WEEKS THERE WERE 4-5 PER WEEK.

Ø STILL, 20 DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO 8 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN.

Ø 96 TOTAL FLIGHTS, EQUAL TO THE LAST 6-MONTH AVERAGE

I know we are all wondering how things will change for people waiting and arriving at the southern border. We have been promised an immediate end to MPP, the remain in Mexico policy that has stranded thousands who have been kept, impoverished, in limbo, in camps and scattered along the borderline. The line protected by guns and fortifications to defend the wealth of a nation against those seeking sanctuary.

Day 12 of 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women#16DaysOfActivismAgainstGenderBasedViolence#OrangeTheWorld #RatifyILO190 #generationalequality

In the midst of busy days caring for the mamas and 5 new babies that have been born in recent weeks, Haznos Valer writes: We hope the stories we share from Haznos Valer will lead people to greater empathy and a call to action. Gender-based violence against women has severe and maternal health consequences. In Ciudad Juarez, under MPP, women are even more vulnerable to gender-based violence in many ongoing ways and specifically in the area of maternal health.

Day 11 of 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #OrangeTheWorld #generationalequality #RatifyILO190

Sarah Towle is a London-based US expatriate author who has been sharing her journey from outrage to activism one tale of humanity and heroism at a time on Medium. She joined the Witness at the Border vigil in Brownsville/Matamoros and shares here information on Rainbow Bridge Asylum Seekers.