09/18/2023
***A crisis is only a crisis if we make it so.
In the past few days our North Community has continued to show up for our newly arrived immigrants dropped by Border Patrol - and with little warning time- in Oceanside. Last minute call and we have all come to the rescue to minimize the impact of human being seeking safety, refuge and a place to call home. This weekend alone we were able to help dozens of individuals reunify with their families by booking flights, connections and offering some reassurance after weeks of a violent and desperate journey. The violence though did not stopped at the border: many have reported being robbed, cellphones intentionally broken, documents intentionally hidden and other human violation that this side of the border has been also responsible for.
Why we believe it? because the stories match over and over and because we have eye witnessed how the BP intentionally has dropped people even few blocks away from where we were coordinating help with the result of many being lost and isolated.
For those of you that wonder: these are the immigrants you always wanted to follow a legal path in order to come in. These are the immigrants that have been vet and authorized to entry because they might have a case given the violence they have experienced.
Yet, they are often received as criminal, as a threat with the basic human rights not even met. Honestly, at this point, the journey to an “illegal” entry looks more promising and less problematic and even safer for many of them when compared to the way they are “officially” received at our border.
What can you do? share your time, things, smiles, rides and money when you can. We do not disclose publicly the locations because haters have started to show up here and there, they are the vultures that feeds over human desperation. Some like to complains but do nothing, other uses these immigrants as human shield to score their political phrase, others are just in the middle creating chaos.
Reach out to our North County LGBTQ Resource Center to the City of Oceanside - Government, to Interfaith Community Services, Pilgrim_Church and few others that have been at the front line of this response for the past days. Others like Universidad Popular that have also -and long term- assisted the hundreds of migrants right at the border. We are better than this, we have plenty to share and love and solidarity have no price.
Thank you