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March 28, 2012

Report Finds Human Rights Abuses Near U.S.-Mexico Border 
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Amnesty International is accusing the U.S. government of systemic
discrimination against Hispanics and Native Americans along the
U.S.-Mexico border. In a new report, Amnesty says federal immigration
programs operated with state and local police put "communities of color
along the border at risk of discriminatory profiling." The report also
finds indigenous communities along the border are "often intimidated and
harassed by border officials for speaking little English or Spanish and
holding only tribal identification documents." Amnesty says harsh
policing is indirectly jeopardizing migrants' right to life, forcing
them to trek through treacherous terrain that led to more than 5,200
deaths from 1998 to 2008. Amnesty is calling on the U.S. to suspend
immigration enforcement programs pending a review.



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