Civil rights abuses by the border patrol are on the rise. Racial and religious profiling, harassment, abusive interrogation, searches without probable cause, road checkpoints and sweeps of public transit have become common along the Northern border, and across the country. The Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol continues to act with unaccountable disregard for basic human and civil rights standards. For years organizations along the northern border have worked to bring justice to communities plagued by DHS and Border Patrol’s actions. In response, The Northern Borders Coalition was formed. The Northern Borders Coalition unites organizations along the northern border to stand up for civil and human rights together. The Coalition helps build shared strategies amongst our members to address new border challenges, and collaborates with our partners in the Southwest to share best practices. One of the first steps in uniting our organizations and bringing together our allies is our Sign-on letter to Secretary Napolitano. The letter describes in good detail the issues our organizations and people confront on the northern border and gives the administration comprehensive solutions to remedy the problems. Please take a moment to read the letter here. If you have any questions or would like to sign the letter please contact Ruth Lopez-McCarthy at ruthlopez@gmail.com.

Additionally, the Northern Borders Coalition will host a conference on Northern Border Issues in Detroit, MI on February 23-24th. For more information please visit the website bit.ly/northernborders.