By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO – Enrique Morones, a humanitarian who has spent decades advocating for dignified and welcoming treatment for migrants, told Thursday of a woman at a Jewish congregation who expressed shock that parents would allow their minor children to cross into the United States by themselves to whatever fate might await them.
He told an Internet forum sponsored by RISE San Diego that Jews should understand the phenomenon because it is written about in the Biblical story of Moses. To escape the pharaoh’s edict that newborn Hebrew boys should be drowned, Moses’ parents placed him in a basket that floated him down the Nile.
Migrant parents “are giving their children a chance to live,” said Morones, who was the founder of Border Angels, the group that, among other activities, leaves water in the desert to help migrants survive unbearable heat. He also founded the House of Mexico in Balboa Park, and an immigration advocacy organization called Gente Unida (People United.)
Moderator Samuel Tsoi, assistant director of UC San Diego’s 21st Century China Center, asked panelists to describe the root causes of migration from Central America to the United States.
Pedro Rios, director of the U.S/ Mexico Border Program of the American Friends Service Committee, said it is in part a crisis of the United States’ own making, especially in the case of Honduras, where the U.S. backed the 2017 reelection of Juan Orlando Hernández Alvarado as president, despite allegations of fraud from opposition figures and international observers. Wikipedia reports that in protests that followed, some 30 demonstrators were killed and more than 800 were arrested.
Hernández, whose brother is serving a term in prison for drug trafficking, “works with organized crime, and controls the armed forces,” Rios said. “Any kind of protesting can lead to death.”
Further, said Rios, there is “the issue of climate change. Many indigenous people in Guatemala can’t grow their crops. They have to compete with crops from other places.” This has prompted multiple migrations from the farms to the cities, from Central America to Mexico, and from Mexico to the United States, Rios said.
Morones said the demand for illegal drugs in the United States has contributed to the growth of organized crime and lawlessness in Central America. These are factors that lead to “so many cases of people fleeing violence,” according to another panelist, Priscilla Merida, lead attorney for Al Otro Lado (On the Other Side).
Dolce Garcia, executive director of the Border Angels and a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient, said “the war on drugs has failed; there is a homicide every four hours in Mexico. It is not just Mexico’s problem; the U.S. has to take responsibility. … Instead of a war on drugs, we should have rehab centers, and reduce the demand for drugs.” She also charged that corrupt U.S. officials are letting the drugs come through.
All the panelists advocated for the United States to treat migrants with more dignity. Asking for asylum is an internationally guaranteed right, one which such policies as Title 42 abrogates, they agreed. Title 42 is a provision in the nation’s health and safety laws that permits people to be barred from entry to this country if they pose a health threat. It was invoked by President Trump’s administration at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and continues under the Biden administration as a pretext for turning people away at the border without granting them an asylum hearing.
Asked what American citizens might do to ease the lot of migrants, Garcia responded, “It sounds cheesy to say ‘Be kind to others,’ but really it has a great impact.” Denigrating migrants as “illegal immigrants” or “illegal aliens,” she said, “is more than ‘sticks and stones.’ “ How people treat migrants is impacted by the kind of language leadership uses, she said.
Rios said citizens can donate to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in the field, or volunteer their time to do such grass roots work as “taking calls from people detained, visiting migrants at shelters.”
On the topic of political responses to migration, Morones complimented some, though not all, portions of President Biden’s proposed immigration reform program; and also complimented San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and County Supervisor Nora Vargas for their positive responses to the sheltering of unaccompanied minors at the San Diego Convention Center. Though he did not mention her by name, he also was supportive of County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s plan for the county to provide lawyers to represent migrants in immigration cases.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com
Pingback: San Diego Jewish World: Baby Moses and the Unaccompanied Migrant Minors | Gente Unida
Times of San Diego on Friday reported the following related story:
The Border Patrol announced Friday it will ramp up operations to disrupt maritime smuggling off San Diego this weekend following a recent spike in illegal entries.
“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of maritime smuggling attempts recently,” said Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke. “All of these illegal crossings at sea are inherently dangerous, and we have seen too many turn from risky to tragic as smugglers sacrifice the safety of those on board for the sake of profits.”
From Friday through Monday, federal law enforcement agencies will dedicate extra resources to coastal patrols on land, air, and sea.
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Heitke said San Diego residents will see an increase in activity by boats and helicopters along the coastline, at beaches and marinas, and in San Diego Bay.
“Safety of life at sea is our highest priority,” said Capt. Timothy Barelli, commander of the Coast Guard’s San Diego sector. “Interdictions of suspected human smuggling at sea are as much rescues as they are law enforcement operations. There is grave risk of capsizing, hypothermia, and drowning.”
On Thursday, agents interdicted a small wooden panga vessel traveling without navigation lights 11 miles off the coast of Point Loma with 21 people on board.
N. Michael Montgomery, director of Customs and Border Protection’s air and marine operations in San Diego said officials hope to keep up the increased maritime patrols.
“We anticipate that there will be continued emphasis operations to follow up after this weekend’s initial push,” he said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office issued this related news release on Friday:
SAN DIEGO – Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada-Imperial, aka “Mayito Gordo,” pleaded guilty in federal court today to drug trafficking charges following his extradition to the Southern District of California in December 2019. He also agreed to forfeit $5 million in drug trafficking proceeds.
Zambada-Imperial pleaded guilty to all charges in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in San Diego on July 25, 2014. The indictment also charges his father, the alleged leader of the cartel, Ismael Zambada-Garcia, known as “El Mayo;” as well as another son of El Mayo, Ismael Zambada-Sicairos, known as “Mayito Flaco;” and Ivan Archivaldo Guzman-Salazar, known as “Chapito,” whose father Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera was the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel along with Mayo. Zambada-Imperial was arrested by Mexican authorities in November 2014. Zambada-Garcia, Zambada-Sicairos, and Guzman-Salazar remain fugitives.
In a proceeding today before U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw, Zambada-Imperial accepted responsibility for his role as a leader within the Sinaloa Cartel, acknowledging that he organized the transportation and distribution of thousands of kilograms of controlled substances, including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana for importation from Mexico into the United States. Zambada-Imperial also admitted to directing acts of violence for the purpose of promoting the Sinaloa Cartel’s narcotics trafficking activities. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 29, 2022 at 2 p.m. before Judge Sabraw.
“Zambada-Imperial’s guilty plea today sends a message to other drug kingpins operating in Mexico. There is no place to hide because our law enforcement partners will find you and work tirelessly to bring you to justice in the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy S. Grossman. “Our investigation and prosecution of other high-level Sinaloa Cartel members is continuing and is having a significant impact on the global operations of the cartel.” Grossman praised Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Sutton, DEA agents and all law enforcement partners for their excellent work on this case.
“Because of the dedication and determination of the DEA and our law enforcement partners, today we are one step closer towards dismantling the violent Sinaloa Cartel with the guilty plea of a Sinaloa Cartel leader,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge John W. Callery. “The DEA remains confident that we will capture the remaining fugitives of this investigation and bring them to justice, along with many additional members of the Sinaloa Cartel. If the public has any information on the whereabouts of these fugitives or information on the Sinaloa cartel, we urge you to contact the DEA at (858) 616-4100.”
The Southern District of California prosecution in this case is part of a multi-year investigation that, in total, has resulted in charges against over 125 people and has had a significant impact on the worldwide operations of the Sinaloa Cartel. This investigation has also offered one of the most comprehensive views to date of the inner workings of one of the world’s most prolific, violent and powerful drug cartels. Cartel members and associates were targeted in this massive investigation involving multiple countries, numerous law enforcement agencies around the United States, a number of federal districts and over 250 court-authorized wiretaps in this district alone.
This case began in late 2011 as an investigation of what was at first believed to be a small-scale drug distribution cell in National City and Chula Vista. It became evident that the drugs were being supplied by the Sinaloa Cartel, and the case evolved into a massive multi-national, multi-state probe that resulted in scores of arrests and seizures of 1,397 kilograms of methamphetamine, 2,214 kilograms of cocaine, 17.2 tons of marijuana, 95.84 kilograms of heroin, and $27,892,706 in narcotics proceeds.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The government’s case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Sutton.
DEFENDANT Case Number: 14CR00658-DMS
Ismael Zambada-Imperial, aka Mayito Gordo Age: 35 Culiacan, Mexico
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances for Purpose of Unlawful Importation, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 959, 960 and 963; Term of custody including a mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine.
Conspiracy to Import Controlled Substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 960 and 963. Term of custody including a mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life imprisonment, $10 million fine.