Global jesuit denunciation to Trump’s Executive Orders from the U.S., Canada and Mexico

Regarding the latest events related to the migratory policies the U.S. President Donald Trump has issued, the Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus and the Conference of Latin American Provincials (CPAL) are joining the statement of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the U.S.
“The priority of the American Provincials of the Society of Jesus of  is the commitment to the people who live in exclusion situations. We aim to help the migrants, the Native Americans, the assault victims and other vulnerable people by reflection, incidence and by being close to them.”
According to the Statement, the U.S. President Donald Trump issued two Executive Orders that will have a negative impact on the migrants that are in the U.S. and on those who arrive to the southern frontier looking for refugee while they run away from the violence from their countries.
The Jesuit Conference of Canada and the U.S. is deeply worried about Trump’s administration that will drastically increase detentions and deportations. This administration also separates the U.S. even further from its neighbor countries and discredits the opinion of the local authorities when it should protect it.
“The migrants are increasingly running away from the violence and the climate of insecurity and arriving to the U.S. Our beliefs make us want to help them: we need to understand them and to protect them. Our Kino Border Initiative (KBI) partners regularly assist the people who have been refused the process and the protection they actually deserve.”
The KBI is worried about this vulnerability situation getting worse because of Trump’s actions. The detention of people that come to the U.S. looking for safety is dehumanizing and is against the catholic faith that stand for human rights. These people have a right to be fairly protected under International and American Law.
“We also feel that increasing the frontier security with officials that have not enough responsibility or training, does not means an improvement of security. According to the analysis we made for our report from 2015 Our Values on the Line, more than one out of three deported migrants suffered abuses at the hands of the Border Patrol agents. The number of people hired without going through a proper selection process or training has increased, and it has made this situation worse.”
KBI’s continuous documentation on migrant abuse shows a lack of respect for their human rights.
President Trump’s plans aim to increase detentions and deportations as they intend to impose the participation in these processes and to penalize the authorities that may not follow these commands and that may not apply these laws. They help at different communities around the U.S. and have witnessed the way detention facilities and detention centers damage confidence, spread fear and separate families. They act to protect the dignity of every human being, the family unit and the involvement of everyone in our communities.
The Executive Orders do not foster the common good and do not respect dignity: they damage and strengthen division. We stand by our solidarity with our migrant brothers and sisters. We call on every believer to join us and to demand the government authorities to act consciously.
The Latin American Provincials joined the refusal to the new migrant measures announced by the U.S. President.
Click here to read the full statement in Spanish.
This post was originally published in the Latin American Conference website (in Spanish).