October 3, 2025
Migration is not a crime. Migration is not a weapon for politicians to exploit. It is an act of survival and a human right. Politicians in the United States use migrants as scapegoats to stoke fear, but the truth is clear: no one abandons their home in Haiti, Mexico, or Honduras simply to cause trouble. People migrate because conditions in their homelands have been made unlivable.
And migration is not the invention of countries of origin. It is the direct result of decades of U.S. policy in Latin America.
For over thirty years, under U.S. direction, Latin American governments were told that globalization was the only future and neoliberalism the only solution. From the outset, Global Exchange denounced these policies. We warned that opening borders for corporations while closing them for people would devastate local economies, deepen inequality, and force millions to leave their towns. Those warnings have become reality.
Now, Trump has returned to power, condemning globalization, liberalism, and migration as the source of a so-called global crisis. His real project is to concentrate power at home, deploy the U.S. military as a tool of intimidation abroad, and impose corporate-driven control and punishment as the model for governance. Far from addressing the root causes of migration or inequality, this approach threatens to accelerate both. That is why thousands of organizations and communities, including Global Exchange, are raising our voices to denounce this agenda as a new stage of authoritarianism and corporate rule.
Against this backdrop, we stand firm in defense of migrants: people who are being scapegoated even as they are some of the most critical contributors to the U.S. economy and culture.
Thanks to your support, in just the past three weeks, we have acted with strength and impact:
Pressure on Congress: More than 2,000 emails were sent to representatives demanding the closure of the detention center in the Everglades, Florida.
Cross-border mobilization: We delivered a letter signed by over 100 organizations in Mexico and the U.S. directly to the Speaker of the House, demanding an end to these abuses.
Standing with Mexico: Hundreds of organizations in the People’s Movement for Peace and Justice signed a statement, published in La Jornada, calling on President Claudia Sheinbaum not to give in to U.S. pressure to criminalize migrants, but instead to defend their rights and dignity.
Building new alliances: We co-sponsored the first-ever convergence of the Mexican American Policy Alliance, bringing together business leaders, educators, health professionals, elected officials, and nonprofits from both sides of the border to strengthen cooperation with local governments and institutions in Mexico.
Culture as resistance: This week, alongside partners, we are leading the second AntiWalls Concert in Mexico City, raising funds for migrant shelters in both Mexico and the U.S.
Massive community presence: On November 17, we will participate in the Migrant Film Festival in Tijuana, where thousands will gather for screenings, dialogue, and a free public concert to send a clear message: Migrants are welcome here.
Trump may be escalating his crusade against migrant rights, but we—the people—are organizing, resisting, and building alternatives. At Global Exchange, we are proud to be part of this response and to serve as a platform where communities can unite their struggles for justice.