Please see below information of actions all along the southern border, beginning October 1st and throughout the month. If you are able to participate as members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), please share your images and experiences with RIM at: [email protected], so we can celebrate your work!

Gatekeeper’s walls went up in San Diego in 1994 and spread across the southern border, leaving a trail of destruction while laying the foundation for the cruel and inhumane border policies of today.

The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) will mark the 25th anniversary of Operation Gatekeeper on October 1st with a series of border-wide actions from San Diego, Calif. to Brownsville, Texas.

Southern border communities are condemning the deadly 1994 federal policy, and are calling for policies that expand public safety, protect human rights, and welcome residents and newcomers.

While many of the worst border policies we see today gained notoriety under the current administration — walls, a huge expansion of agents, checkpoints, detention and family separation — all of them found their inspiration in Operation Gatekeeper.

EVENTS ON OCTOBER 1st
* San Diego, CA, at Chicano Park, in front of the Operation Gatekeeper mural, at 11 a.m.: San Diego Press Conference
* Douglas, AZ, at the corner of Pan American and 5th, starting at 5:15 pm: Conversation with Joe Nevins, author of Operation Gatekeeper and Beyond, and vigil
* Las Cruces, NM: Multimedia event featuring video testimony from those impacted by Gatekeeper
* San Juan, TX: Roundtable discussion with community members on impact of Gatekeeper

These coordinated events will also kick off a month of actions against harmful border policies. For a complete list of events in CA, AZ, NM, TX, and MX, please click here.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN BORDER COMMUNITIES COALITION
The Southern Border Communities Coalition (SBCC) brings together organizations from San Diego, California to Brownsville, Texas, to ensure that border enforcement policies and practices are accountable and fair, respect human dignity and human rights, and prevent the loss of life in the region.

Follow Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries on Twitter @StanleyRea, & on FB at: http://bit.ly/RIMFacebook, and call Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries, with any questions: 202-957-7826.

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