Refuge For Families Delegation Visits Mexico and Guatemala Ahead of the Holidays

Leaders to Document Conditions for Immigrants and Refugees Fleeing Violence in Central America

WHAT: Refuge For Families Central American Delegation Visit WHEN: December 16 - 19 WHERE: Mexico City / Tapachula / Guatemala-Mexico Border WHO: Murad Awawdeh, Executive Vice President of Advocacy & Strategy at New York Immigration Coalition Lawrence Benito, Chief Executive Officer at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Mariko Hirose, Litigation Director at International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and Executive Director at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) Lisa Simeone, Lecturer and Doctoral Candidate at the University of Chicago Oscar Chacón, Executive Director at Alianza Americas and Co-founder of “Refuge for Families” campaign Irazu Gomez Mexico Liaison for the “Refuge For Families” campaign and Alianza Americas Mexico Program Advisor WASHINGTON - Refuge for Families, a transnational partnership responsive to the plight of migrants along the Central America-US corridor, will lead a delegation of immigrant and refugee rights leaders and advocates on a three-stop tour of Mexico and Guatemala starting Dec. 16. Aiming to get a first-hand look at the regional dynamic driving so many to flee their countries, as well as the conditions faced by Central Americans and other asylum seekers, this delegation will bear witness to the continuing humanitarian disaster occurring as a result of U.S. policies. “Bi-national accords that block people from requesting asylum in the U.S., and the ongoing attempts by the Trump Administration to slam the doors on migration are wreaking havoc on the already dangerous conditions,” said Oscar Chacon, member of Refuge for Families and an executive director of Alianza Américas, a network of 50 organizations led by Latin American and Caribbean immigrants who represent more than 100,000 families throughout the United States. “People are now being returned to the very dangers they are seeking refuge from or being sent to neighboring, unfamiliar countries with little to no infrastructure or plan to properly receive them. These people are then left with little resources other than those being provided by non-governmental humanitarian groups and human rights organizations.” As part of the trip, Refuge 4 Families will visit migrant and refugee shelters in Mexico City and Tapachula as well as the Human Rights Center Fray Matias de Cordova B.C.