We are here in Ciudad Juárez for the Peace Summit, where yesterday we experienced an incredible first day of the People’s Tribunal. Throughout the day, we heard painful, powerful, and deeply moving testimonies from people and communities confronting violence, displacement, militarization, and injustice.
The stories shared yesterday reminded us why spaces like this matter: bringing people together across borders to speak out, bear witness, build solidarity, and demand justice.
After the first day of the Summit, three participants who were crossing back into the United States were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in El Paso, Texas, for more than 12 hours.
Those detained included U.S. labor organizer Chris Smalls and two Mexican human rights defenders from Derechos Humanos Integrales en Acción (DHIA). For their safety, we are not publicly naming the two Mexican human rights defenders at this time. All three have now been released.
According to Smalls, CBP questioned him during his detention about his previous travel to Palestine and Cuba. We have seen this kind of targeting time and time again. Organizers and activists engaged in solidarity work with the people of Cuba and Palestine have repeatedly faced scrutiny, intimidation, and attempts to criminalize their work. This detention is part of that broader pattern of targeting those who challenge U.S. policies and organize across borders in defense of human rights and justice.
We strongly condemn their detention. CBP has a long-documented history of violence, excessive force, and civil rights abuses, particularly against Black and Brown communities and immigrants. The detention of people engaged in organizing for peace, justice, and human rights is unacceptable.
We will not be silent. We will continue to stand together for justice, human rights, and the right to organize, dissent, and demand accountability.
Today, we continue the Peace Summit and the work of building a movement for peace and justice across borders.