US-Mexico Border

Border Shooting

A reporter stands where Jose Alfredo Yañez Reyes might have been when he was shot. There is no sign of blood on the U.S. side, meaning he was on the Mexican side when he was shot.

Tijuana/San Diego - The Migrant Defense Coalition (based in Baja California, Mexico) and the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC) condemn the latest act of aggression committed Tuesday night by Border Patrol agents at the border fence between Tijuana and San Diego. 

AFSC staff quoted in USA Today:

Christian Ramirez of American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization that tracks border violence, said the blame lies on both sides of the border. Ramirez said smuggling cartels trying to push their goods into the U.S. are clashing with an ever-expanding collection of law enforcement officers on the U.S. side, leaving illegal immigrants simply looking for work caught in the crossfire.

AFSC staff have expressed their sorrow about the death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, an immigrant who died after being tasered by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent during Memorial Day weekend. A father of five children who were born in the United States, Hernandez was recently deported to Mexico after living in the U.S. for many years.

AFSC, along with immigrant community partners, have long called for a demilitarization of the Mexico-U.S. border and new policies that protect the rights and dignity of all, including immigrants.