April 24: Press Conference for Juarez

During the past several years, we have witnessed an unprecedented crisis of violence in Mexico and especially in the border city of Juarez. Tens of thousands have been killed or wounded and reports of kidnappings, extortion, carjacks are staggering. The crisis has forced tens of thousands to flee their homes, many making the decision to relocate in other parts of Mexico in an attempt to find safety. But countless others have fled their country entirely and sought refuge in the United States.

A significant number of Mexican nationals directly affected by the violence and who have crossed into the United States have petitioned for political asylum in the US. The response to these petitions has been an almost wholesale denial of asylum applications. What Mexicans fleeing the violence in Mexico are discovering is that there is no legal support or relief available to them. In addition, they are discovering that there is no political will to find ways of applying existing law and regulations to afford some measure of protection to individuals affected by the violence.

The wholesale denial of asylum to Mexicans fleeing the violence and the almost total absence of the use of alternative measures to afford some basic level of protection to individuals and families victimized by the violence has led to the preparation of a Petition for Protection demanding that the Obama Administration and DHS respond and act.

The Petition for Protection will be released at a news conference that will be held on: