FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2023

San Diego, California – On Friday, March 3, 2023, a video and photo surfaced on social media allegedly showing the aftermath of a shooting of three Black men and the potential kidnapping of a Black woman near a migrant encampment in Matamoros on the US-Mexico border. Upon hearing reports of the shooting from migrants in the nearby camp, the Haitian Bridge Alliance reached out to entities in Mexico and the United States immediately to warn them of these extreme acts of violence fearing for the Haitians and other asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border.

Guerline Jozef, Co-founder and Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance, the Black Immigrants Bail Fund, and founding member of Cameroon Advocacy Network, issued the following statement:

“We strongly advise the migrant populations in the Matamoros area, including many Black asylum seekers, to be extremely cautious. Anti-Blackness is endemic in Mexico, and each day that people seeking asylum, including pregnant people, children, and families are forced to wait in these dangerous areas raises the chances of more violence. This is an active investigation so the Haitian Bridge Alliance will continue to reach out to various entities to see if we can clarify whether or not the victims were asylum seekers or indeed US citizens crossing into Mexico as some media outlets have reported. These cruel acts of violence show that whether you are seeking asylum or US citizens of African descent just visiting the Matamoros area, there is no safe place for Black people at the US-Mexico border.”

From Tijuana to Matamoros, Haitians and others seeking safety are victims of extortion, kidnapping and murder by cartels. We call on the US government to restore full asylum access at the border, and for the Mexican government to investigate this violence immediately and do what is necessary to reunite those taken with their loved ones.