SAN DIEGO, CA — On Thursday, April 9, the Vista Unified School Board passed a resolution to embrace a New Border Vision, a framework for well-functioning borders for the 21st century. The resolution was sponsored by Vista Unified School Board member Cipriano Vargas, and comes as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has increased checkpoint operations in North County, blocking routes to healthcare facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For a link to the resolution, click here.
Vista Unified School District falls within a border city, and its students and their families are subject to inhumane and wrongheaded border policies that violate human rights, separate families and make every resident a potential victim to the widespread abuse and corruption of federal border agents. A New Border Vision would expand public safety, protect human rights, and welcome all people who live, work or travel to the region.
Vista Unified School district joins the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley, CA, and the Berkeley Unified School District Board of Education, which have already passed resolutions pushing back against border policies that affect communities across the nation.
Cipriano Vargas, Vista Unified School Boardmember, said:
“The students of Vista Unified School District and their families deserve to live in safe and thriving communities where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. The high presence of Border Patrol and ICE in North County San Diego also means that families and students who need to access medical supplies and healthcare during the COVID-19 public health crisis, face yet another barrier to being able to get the help they need. The emotional stress and anxiety that students who are part of immigrant families face as a result of the high presence of border agents in the region negatively impacts the learning outcomes of all students. A New Border Vision expands public safety while protecting the human rights of all people in our communities, which is what our students and their families need most, especially during times of uncertainty.”
Lilian Serrano, Chair of SDIRC, steering committee member of SBCC and human rights organizer with Alianza Comunitaria, said:
“We thank the Vista Unified School Board for putting the wellbeing of their students and their families first, and embracing a New Border Vision that protects the dignity and human rights of border communities.The continued construction of a deadly border wall and the increase in checkpoints in our communities send a clear message that the current administration would rather continue to institutionalize its hateful rhetoric than work toward public health solutions that keep our communities safe and healthy. Vista Unified School Board’s support of a New Border Vision is an important call for positive and compassionate action. We invite the cities and towns across our nation to join San Francisco, Berkeley and now, Vista Unified School District in rethinking our borders and supporting a New Border Vision.”
ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO IMMIGRANT RIGHTS CONSORTIUM
The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium is a project of Alliance San Diego. Since 2007, community, faith, labor, and legal organizations have come together as the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC). Through SDIRC, these organizations are pursuing four common goals: support comprehensive immigration reform; stop the spread of local policies and practices that target and violate the civil and human rights of immigrants; educate immigrants, and educate the public about the important contributions of immigrants. More at: www.immigrantsandiego.org.
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.
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