Human Rights in the News: July 2019
/Curated by Nikki Bambauer
Welcome to the July 2019 edition of Human Rights in the News, Woven Teaching’s monthly collection of important stories from around the world. This month, Human Rights in the News focuses on the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
A group of migrants, including children, in a makeshift encampment outside a Border Patrol station in Texas (Credit: Loren Elliott/Reuters)
Squalid Conditions at Border Detention Centers, Government Report Finds
New York Times | July 2, 2019
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General recently released a report which confirms many reports from media outlets and politicians – conditions in migrant detention centers are unsanitary, overcrowded, and in violation of official Customs and Border Protection policy. Learn more >
Large group of people sitting on a concrete floor behind a chain-link fence. The floor is barely visible due to the large number of people being held (Credit: Office of Inspector General/Department of Homeland Security via Getty Images)
There Are Two Types of Detention Facilities at the Border, “Iceboxes” and “Dog Pounds”
Slate | July 11, 2019
Migrants and asylum seekers entering the United States are being held in what detainees call hieleras (iceboxes) and perreras (dog pounds). These facilities are usually trailers or warehouses, and are wildly overcrowded. Learn more >
Two brown hands grasping horizontal bars on a gate (Credit: UNHCR/V. Tan)
UN rights chief ‘appalled’ by US border detention conditions, says holding migrant children may violate international law
UN News | July 8, 2019
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet recently stated that holding migrant children in detention centers may constitute cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Learn more >
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) speaks at a podium after touring the Border Patrol station on July 1. A crowd of people can be seen behind him. (Credit: Cedar Attanasio/AP)
Lawmakers Respond To 'Vile,' Secret Facebook Group Created By Border Patrol Agents
NPR | July 2, 2019
Nonprofit news organization ProPublica recently uncovered a Facebook group with 9,500 members, most of whom are current and former U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. Many U.S. lawmakers have decried the group and its statements, many of which could be considered hate speech. Learn more >
An adult with light pants and a patterned shirt sits on top of an ice chest. There is a small child in a dress sitting on one leg (Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman)
‘Nobody Opened the Door’: Neighbors Rally During an ICE Raid in Houston
New York Times | July 15, 2019
The mid-July raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not go as planned, according to the New York Times. Because of neighbors, activists, and others spreading information about what to do if ICE comes to their homes, several undocumented immigrants avoided arrest. Learn more >
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