Charity Pitch: Al Otro Lado

Al Otro Lado is a bi-national organization in California that provides relief and services to deportees and refugees through their Border Rights Program, Deportee Program, and Litigation Program. The mission of this organization is to uplift immigrants by defending their rights against the injustices that exist within the legal system. They also fight for families that have been torn apart by immigration laws.

 There were a total of 997,509 apprehensions at the Southwest border in 2019 (U.S. Customs and Border Protection). In the majority of these cases migrants are forced to “go back home” due to government programs, such as the Migrant Protection Program, which restricts migrants from crossing at the border. This program more than often leaves migrants in difficult situations, which puts them back in the danger they were trying to escape in the first place. 

Before my college career started at Binghamton University, I had only understood the state of the border and the immigration crisis at the surface level. My first Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACAS) course at BU opened me to the injustices migrants face and the way in which our legal system violates the values of justice and fairness. This discovery had left me in shock, but also wanting to learn more. These injustices are completely out of the migrant’s control and they usually have no ways of defending themselves. Majority of migrants speak their native tongue, aren’t aware of the programs in place that prevent them from crossing, or just do not know how to actually cross a border. Al Otro Lado recognizes this, thus making it their mission to assist migrants through their programs such as the Border Rights Clinic. 

Al Otro Lado’s Border Rights Clinic are one the few ways they are trying to tackle the issue at hand. The clinic provides “know-your-rights training and legal orientation workshops in migrant shelters in Tijuana, Mexico, and provides direct legal representation to detained asylum seekers in Southern California” (Al Otro Lado). I think it’s important to realize the benefits of educating those who are directly affected by this crisis. By learning about your own rights and ways to protect yourself while crossing or being detained allows the own individual to fight against the system as well. Supporting programs like this restores hope and confidence that may be lost within these communities. In whichever way we may choose to make a difference, whether that be by volunteering as a staff member or by making a donation to liberate lives, we should all remember that these are real people who need real support. 

Kassandra Moran