The goals of the committee are to educate members and the public about immigration and deportation issues, advocate for improvements, and assist those in need.
At each monthly meeting, we have a speaker and discuss the volunteer workers who attend the meeting. Lately, more attendees are not living in San Diego, which provides a wider perspective of issues related to immigration. In March, Angel Morales from the U.S. Border Patrol answered many questions and gave us the position of the Border Patrol/BP on issues we questioned. One concern is that people manage to get between the two border walls/fences and are left there for a varying amount of time up to a few days. They are not provided shelter, food, sanitation, water, etc. because until the Border Patrol talks with them and enters them into their system, BP is not responsible for their well-being. However, on April 4, 2024, a judge ruled that BP has to shelter the children who are out in the open, so that will help some. Another concern is people falling off the top of the 30 foot wall. There is now no official welcoming program for asylum seekers who cross the border, and who often aren't even sure where they are. They are dropped at a trolley station and told to find their way to the airport where they hang out and try to contact their sponsor to pay for the ticket. Some of us have been making lots of sandwiches to tide them over, since many don't have cash.
Last fall, we had a children's party at a school with several deported students, and we visited the Otay Mesa Detention Center for asylum seekers and people who are still undocumented. On April 13, 2024, members of the committee went to the Movimiento Juventud 2000 shelter in Tijuana and hosted a craft party and lunch for 25 children of all ages and their families (photos below). Each family at the shelter sleeps in a pup tent on the cement floor. There were five tables for our crafts – sewing together and decorating little purses, stringing beads, decorating hats, painting cars made from toilet paper rolls, pasting cotton balls on a drawing of a sheep, playing musical instruments, and blowing bubbles. The supplies and lunch for the shelter and for the volunteers were paid for by LWVSD through member support.