A group of migrant rights activists from around the country visited the U.S.-Mexico border near Yuma this past weekend.
Representatives from more than 40 organizations are on 2,200 mile pilgrimage along the border called Witness at the Border. It began Dec. 2 in Brownsville, Texas. It ended Sunday- International Migrants’ Day- in San Diego.
Early Friday morning, the group met with migrants and local aid workers where the border fencing meets Cocopah land in western Yuma County.
Joshua Rubin, founder of Witness at the Border, says it’s both a chance to provide more welcoming faces to migrants and a learning experience for activists.
“If people came down here and actually saw it, saw what’s going down here, hearts would change. I know that," Rubin told KAWC. "That’s why we’re Witness at the Border. That’s why we encourage people to see it for themselves and not buy into that line that people are spreading to foster fear.
The journey came as the pandemic-era policy known as Title 42 was set to end Wednesday. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court granted an 11th-hour request by a group of Republican attorneys general from 19 states, including Arizona, seeking to extend those restrictions.
In an order signed by Justice John Roberts, the court asked for a response from the Biden administration by 5 p.m. eastern time Tuesday.
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Stay tuned to KAWC for more from Witness at the Border, the Yuma Sector and what's next for Title 42.
NPR contributed to this report.
