Castro Campaign Press Release - MONDAY: Julián Castro to Cross U.S. Border to Help Asylum Seekers In Matamoros Refugee Camp

Secretary Castro will join LGBTQ and disabled refugees who are crossing the border to attempt to seek asylum

SAN ANTONIO, TX (October 4, 2019) – On Monday, October 7, presidential candidate and former Obama Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Julián Castro, will cross the bridge from Brownsville, Texas to Matamoros, Mexico to assist refugees who are attempting to seek asylum in the U.S. In Matamoros, Secretary Castro will visit a refugee camp where hundreds of migrants have been forced to take shelter while they await their asylum cases to be heard. The camps were set up due to the Trump administration's "remain in Mexico" policy, which has forced thousands of would-be asylees to remain on the Mexico side of the border for an indeterminate period of time while they await their cases to the heard. In Matamoros, Secretary Castro will meet with LGBTQ and disabled refugees who have been persecuted and are attempting to seek refuge in the U.S.

Following this meeting, Secretary Castro will join refugees in crossing the bridge to Brownsville and attempt to assist them in petitioning for their asylum. After crossing the border, Secretary Castro will take part in a media availability in Xeriscape Park.

Secretary Castro has been the most vocal candidate against the Trump administration's immigration agenda, including the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which has forced immigrants to endure inhumane and intolerable conditions. Migrants, including many who are pregnant, LGBTQ or disabled, are facing threats of violence, kidnapping, and extortion as they wait to enter the United States. They also have urgent unmet basic needs from sanitation to supplies, as well as education for the many stranded children.

In April, Secretary Castro released the first and most comprehensive immigration plan of the 2020 field. The plan establishes a roadmap for citizenship for undocumented people, opens a path to citizenship for dreamers, and repeals section 1325 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which would permanently end the family separation policy.