The Criminalization of Migration

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Coalición de Derechos Humanos has been raising awareness about Operation Streamline and the broader criminalization of migration for over a decade.

On December 1st, 2012, the End Streamline Coalition was born in the La Lucha Sigue Conference.  The conference brought organizations together to celebrate the history of resistance and struggle in the borderlands and to strategize about ways in which the movement for justice and dignity could continue to grow in our communities.

Since its inception, Coalición de Derechos Humanos has been part of the End Streamline Coalition, a volunteer group that has worked tirelessly—primarily through public education and strategic advocacy—to oppose this little known program that causes so much harm to individuals, families, and communities. Click Here: To learn more about Operation Streamline and the work of the End Streamline Coalition

Since Operation Streamline began, hundreds of thousands of people have been criminally prosecuted and incarcerated, often in privately-run federal prisons, for the “crime” of crossing the border to seek safety and economic justice for themselves and their families.  Although the cost of incarcerating so many people is estimated to be over a billion dollars a year, the government’s own reports show these prosecutions do not accomplish their stated goal of “deterring” human migration.

In April 2015, Derechos Humanos, in collaboration with Grassroots Leadership, and AFSC of Arizona hosted a National Strategy Session bringing representatives from along the Southern border in addition to those who work in Washington DC. On September 19, 2015 Derechos Humanos, the End Streamline Coalition, and AFSC of Arizona convened a regional conference with representatives from 14 different Tucson organizations. These strategy sessions allowed groups from around the state and around the country to share their work and collectively strategize on next steps for ending the mass incarceration of migrants through programs like Operation Streamline.