No Footprint, No Voice, and No International Protection



By Cristina Rodriguez

On their exodus from unbearable living conditions in their home countries, they walk with sponges tied to their shoes to not leave a footprint —no footprint, no voice, and no international protection.

I have heard the experiences of aunts, cousins, and other family members in their trek across the Rio Grande River from Mexico into Texas. They walked tremendous distances under unsafe conditions with their belongings in a small backpack. I could see the angst and frustration in their eyes when they recounted their stories, but I could never really understand the experience of what it was to risk my life to cross national boundaries in search for freedom and opportunity—until this past Sunday.

At Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s virtual exhibit Cane y Arena, I experienced the journey of migrants who were fleeing from Central America and Mexico into the United States out of sheer desperation. Fear drives them: fear of gang violence, fear of sexual exploitation, fear of kidnappings and extortion, and a fear that there is no path towards a safe and fulfilling life. That day, as I “joined them” in their trek, I realized that I must try to leave the footprint that they cannot leave in the sand.

I was placed in a large dark room with no shoes or belongings and was handed a backpack, headset, and virtual reality goggles. I opened my eyes and I was no longer in my comfortable life. It was an evening in the Arizona desert. Then I saw them coming. I saw a boy who resembled my son when he was five and a young woman who looked like my cousin who is my best friend. I saw scared young men that resembled my brothers who have passed and some of the incredible friends I have now. I saw a frail woman who could have been my mother. Then the helicopters, officials, and dogs surrounded us. There was confusion, yelling, and cries. All survivors were handcuffed and taken away.

Around the world, migrants are denied basic human right protections both in transit and when they reach their arrival point. En route they are shoved in livestock trucks, go without food and water for extended periods of time, leave their home countries not knowing if they will ever see their families or friends again, and they are denied their dignity and worth as human persons. Some migrants have expressed that the most difficult time for them is at their arrival. If they make it in, they face inhumane detention conditions, coercion, the lack of opportunity, and the spirit-breaking forms of discrimination. Their journey and these images are well known but a blind eye is turned.

In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly will hold an intergovernmental conference on international migration in hopes of adopting a final draft. The 2018 Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration will be the most comprehensive framework for global cooperation on migrants and human mobility to date; however, the United States has withdrawn its participation from the conference and compact.

A withdrawal from the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration does not suspend the U.S.’s responsibility to the global migrant population. Cooperation with national governments to upkeep and establish new safe houses that are along transit routes can aid in providing migrants with medical, mental health services, and legal assistance. The criminal justice sector of affected countries need resources and training to combat migrant smuggling, extortion, and sex and gender-based crimes. Women, children, and LGBTI migrants are at particularly high risks to become victims to these crimes.

There is endless rhetoric about the protection of America’s borders and immigration enforcement, but little discussion on successful forms of intervention to address the root drivers of migration. Migrants flee from nation states that lack rule of law. Weak institutions, corruption, deteriorating criminal justice systems, and worsening human rights abuses send nation states down a spiral of poverty, distrust, and despair. Where there are just legal institutions, higher quality governance systems, and more confidence there is more social aptitude, economic opportunity, and less oppression.

As individuals with the capacity and resources to leave the imprint in the sand, we can step up where our nation has stepped back, and focus on the safety of these individuals and develop strategies together. The global community must cooperate in order to combat the drivers of migration, as well as uphold the rule of law and push back against human rights abuses. Advances in this direction honor our international obligation to respect the human dignity of all - no matter where an individual is from.

Cristina Rodriguez is a Jones Day Intern at ABA ROLI.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of ABA ROLI.

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