The CNDH takes out the scalpel: ‘barbarism’ is the word for ICE raids
The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) does not mince words. Its president, Rosario Piedra, has just released a verdict that resonates like a slamming door in Washington: the policies of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) are an act of barbarism. A direct attack against human rights.
“…they constitute an act of barbarism and an attack against the human rights of migrants, who with their work and culture contribute to the public life of that country,” said Piedra.
And what does an institution do when it denounces barbarism? In theory, it acts. This Friday, the CNDH signed an agreement with El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (Colef). The objective sounds good: to promote cultural, social and academic initiatives in favor of the migrant population. Research, training, dissemination. All to strengthen a defense that, judging by the daily news, seems like a race against time.
Piedra stressed that the pact seeks to protect migrants from those who want to stigmatize them and limit their mobility. A clear nod to narratives that criminalize migration. He said defending their rights is a global “imperative.” Nice word, ‘imperative’. We will see how much it weighs against express deportations.
An agreement against the border machinery
On the other side of the table was Víctor Alejandro Espinoza Valle, from Colef. His institution has an area that meticulously documents how US decisions hit the northern border and the rights of Mexicans outside the country. That is to say, they have been watching the pain train pass for years.
“…documents United States decisions that directly affect the northern border and the rights of Mexicans abroad, evidencing the violation of their fundamental guarantees,” said Espinoza Valle.
The CNDH trusts that this agreement is the beginning of something lasting. That puts human dignity at the center of public policies and stops state arbitrariness. A noble desire in the face of a fierce reality.
Meanwhile, the raids continue. And here, an agreement is signed amidst applause. History will judge which of the two actions had more force.
