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The Asylum Seekers Relief Fund (ASRF) is working to provide necessary humanitarian and legal aid to asylum seekers in the shelters, camps, and local clinics in Tijuana, Mexico and in the detention holdings across the United States.
Background:
Thousands of migrants fleeing violence in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala are seeking asylum in the US. They traveled North by way of caravan and arrived in Mexico in October expecting to be granted entry into the US while they went through the process of applying for asylum.
However, the Trump administration has set up de facto blockades at government- sanctioned ports of entry. Women seeking refuge from domestic abuse are reportedly being denied asylum because the U.S. attorney general decided they rarely qualify for safe harbor. A federal “zero tolerance” policy mandates criminal prosecution even for those seeking asylum — a perfectly legal process. And some asylum-seekers have been detained for so long awaiting court hearings that they’re giving up on their claims altogether.
Who is ASRF?
ASRF is founded and led by a passionate twenty-two-year-old woman named Sophia DeLoretto-Chudy. She went down to Tijuana on her own volition because she knew that the rhetoric and policies of the Trump Administration are inhuman and wanted to help.
In an effort to complement the work already being done by the Mexican government and Non-Governmental Organizations, Sophia joined forces with humanitarian aid workers, legal groups, and medical teams as well as two pre-schools in Los Angeles and many more activists and volunteers.
Programs:
The cornerstone of the ASRF philosophy is to adapt to the changing needs of the asylum seekers. ASRF models their programs based of the needs expressed by the asylum seekers in the camps, other volunteer and professional workers on the ground, and what they themselves have seen.
ASRF committed to continue their work by traveling to the Barretal camp every single weekend December 2018 until January 2019. As of February 2019, ASRF has established relations with over 30 shelters providing assistance to asylum seekers.
Programs to date include: mass in-kind donation collection, sorting, transporting, and need-based distribution; English as a Second Language introduction classes in shelters; volunteer coordination, shelter mapping, in-field intakes for legal aid groups, finding victims of the new MPP policy and connecting them to resources, and accompaniment of migrants to the border to present for asylum.
A note from ASRF founder Sophia: "We believe that the refugees seeking asylum at our southern border have a right to do so and deserve the support of the citizens of the United States. The rhetoric used by our administration is both dangerous and damaging to the members of this group who have fled their homes in search of freedom. The United States of America has a long and tiring history of enacting policies that perpetuate violence in Latin America and for that reason we must take action to make reparations. We are committed to fighting the injustices perpetrated upon the migrants seeking refuge in our great nation by meeting them at our border with compassion rather accusations and fear."
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You can donate specific products directly by making a purchase from on of our Amazon Wishlists .
You can also avoid the middle man by donating directly to the ASRF Venmo @ASRF-la.
Background:
Thousands of migrants fleeing violence in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala are seeking asylum in the US. They traveled North by way of caravan and arrived in Mexico in October expecting to be granted entry into the US while they went through the process of applying for asylum.
However, the Trump administration has set up de facto blockades at government- sanctioned ports of entry. Women seeking refuge from domestic abuse are reportedly being denied asylum because the U.S. attorney general decided they rarely qualify for safe harbor. A federal “zero tolerance” policy mandates criminal prosecution even for those seeking asylum — a perfectly legal process. And some asylum-seekers have been detained for so long awaiting court hearings that they’re giving up on their claims altogether.
Who is ASRF?
ASRF is founded and led by a passionate twenty-two-year-old woman named Sophia DeLoretto-Chudy. She went down to Tijuana on her own volition because she knew that the rhetoric and policies of the Trump Administration are inhuman and wanted to help.
In an effort to complement the work already being done by the Mexican government and Non-Governmental Organizations, Sophia joined forces with humanitarian aid workers, legal groups, and medical teams as well as two pre-schools in Los Angeles and many more activists and volunteers.
Programs:
The cornerstone of the ASRF philosophy is to adapt to the changing needs of the asylum seekers. ASRF models their programs based of the needs expressed by the asylum seekers in the camps, other volunteer and professional workers on the ground, and what they themselves have seen.
ASRF committed to continue their work by traveling to the Barretal camp every single weekend December 2018 until January 2019. As of February 2019, ASRF has established relations with over 30 shelters providing assistance to asylum seekers.
Programs to date include: mass in-kind donation collection, sorting, transporting, and need-based distribution; English as a Second Language introduction classes in shelters; volunteer coordination, shelter mapping, in-field intakes for legal aid groups, finding victims of the new MPP policy and connecting them to resources, and accompaniment of migrants to the border to present for asylum.
A note from ASRF founder Sophia: "We believe that the refugees seeking asylum at our southern border have a right to do so and deserve the support of the citizens of the United States. The rhetoric used by our administration is both dangerous and damaging to the members of this group who have fled their homes in search of freedom. The United States of America has a long and tiring history of enacting policies that perpetuate violence in Latin America and for that reason we must take action to make reparations. We are committed to fighting the injustices perpetrated upon the migrants seeking refuge in our great nation by meeting them at our border with compassion rather accusations and fear."
---
You can donate specific products directly by making a purchase from on of our Amazon Wishlists .
You can also avoid the middle man by donating directly to the ASRF Venmo @ASRF-la.