Derechos Humanos

Coalición de Derechos Humanos ("The Human Rights Coalition") is a grassroots organization which promotes respect for human/civil rights and fights the militarization of the Southern Border region, discrimination, and human rights abuses by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials affecting and citizens humanos logo

Our goals include:

* Strengthening the capacity of the border & urban communities to exercise their rights and participate in public policy decisions.
* Increasing public awareness of the magnitude of human rights abuses, deaths and assaults at the border resulting from policy.
* Seeking changes in government policies that result in human suffering because of the militarization of the border region.

Influencing Public Policy.
Derechos Humanos holds press conferences and interviews, hosts media crews, has demonstrations, weekly vigils, symposiums and marches to draw attention to the unjust policies and inhumane treatment of immigrants. We counter the anti-immigrant hysteria and work to change the stereotypes and misinformation about immigrants.

Why we do it:
In the DHS fiscal year 2006-2007, the human remains of 183 men, women and childrend were recovered on the Arizona-Sonora border. Since the implementation of border policies in the mid-1990s, it is estimated that more than 5,000 migrants have died. Migrants have been driven into the desert as urban crossing points have been closed down, and border communities have suffered from the division and xenophobia that militarization has brought.

Immigration policy has been a total failure and needs to be changed. It has not prevented people from attempting to cross the border but has put the lives of thousands of men, women, and children in serious danger. Their deaths are the direct result of policy. Derechos Humanos calls upon all people of conscience to work together to demand change on the borders and in our communities.