CASE: U.S. HUMANITARIAN VOLUNTEER INVESTIGATED AT THE BORDER
We’re back in the database, highlighting a case of criminalised solidarity in the US from 2019. 🔍🇺🇸
Meet Emily Saunders, a US citizen accused of human smuggling after volunteering to help a family flee extreme violence in Honduras - a family that had been shot at and wounded. When they reached the US-Mexico border, Emily recalls:
“Then half of the CBP officers ran and charged at them, and tackled them to the ground, pulled Tasers on them, while a CBP officer sought to close the gate.” 💬
Emily’s belongings were confiscated, she was interrogated on multiple occasions, and reported being threatened by US border patrol.
This post marks the beginning of a new case study series on the US border.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll explore stories of humanitarian criminalisation, detention centres, treatment of asylum seekers, and US migration policies. Our goal is to collect and share data that sheds light on why humanitarian work in the US is more urgent than ever, and the shrinking space it operates within.
Know of an example where humanitarian assistance or acts of solidarity have been obstructed, restricted, or criminalised? We want to hear from you. Submit the story here.
Sources:
1. Database entry: March 2019, CoSaH database 📊
2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, December 1948 📃