CGRS Stands with Black Communities and Movement Leaders

(June 2020) - CGRS stands in solidarity with Black communities and allies around the country rising up to seek justice for victims of anti-Black police violence. We recognize that our advocacy on behalf of asylum seekers is fundamentally and inextricably connected to the struggle for racial justice. We are committed to building a world where all Black lives matter

Earlier this month CGRS joined more than 450 immigrant justice organizations in an expression of solidarity and support for Black movement leaders and their vision for collective liberation. Together, we committed to actively dismantle white supremacy, white nationalism, and the anti-Blackness that permeates our society, including within the immigrant justice movement. We also joined calls for divestment from policing and investment in programs that meet the needs of Black communities.

We encourage everyone to join local efforts to defend Black lives and to support Black-led refugee and immigrant rights organizations. CGRS is honored to partner with the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), a binational organization providing vital services to Haitian and African migrants trapped in Mexico under the Trump Administration’s increasingly draconian border policies. CGRS has worked closely with HBA to document conditions facing Black migrants stranded in Tapachula, Mexico, and will be publishing a joint report together in July. We encourage our community to learn more about HBA’s critical work, and to support their newest initiative, the Black Immigrants Bail Fund. Launched in partnership with the African Bureau for Immigration and Social Affairs this month, the Black Immigrants Bail Fund provides free assistance and relief to detained Black immigrants and asylum seekers. The Fund is currently seeking donations to help free Black detainees, who are frequently saddled with exorbitantly high bonds, from immigration prisons.