Declaration of Madeleine Penman — East Bay Sanctuary v. Trump

Summary

Madeleine Penman, a Researcher on Mexico for the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, executed this declaration on the 16th day of November 2018; it was filed as Document 35-7 in Case 4:18-cv-06810-JST. It summarizes Amnesty International's findings on the Central American "caravans" from fact-finding missions in Guatemala, southern Mexico and Mexico City in October and November 2018, including research on November 6, 2018 at sports facilities set up by Mexico City authorities. The declaration says Amnesty International spoke to approximately 200 caravan members and found many people with special protection needs, including people fleeing forced recruitment, extortion, death threats and murder by the maras in Honduras and El Salvador. It also reports dehydration and hunger along the route and says Mexico's asylum agency (COMAR) has no office in Tijuana.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Record facts

Full text

Case 4:18-cv-06810-JST Document 35-7 Filed 11/16/18 Page 1 of 3
DECLARATION OF MADELEINE PENMAN
I, Madeleine Penman, declare as follows:
I am over 18 and have personal knowledge of the facts described herein.
I am a Researcher on Mexico for the International Secretariat of Amnesty International.
Amnesty International is committed to advancing the human rights of refugees, asylum
seekers, and displaced peoples in the Americas.
Since 2015 I have worked as a Researcher based in Mexico City to investigate human
rights violations in several countries in the Americas. | document cases, prepare reports,
advise on strategy, and initiate actions by Amnesty International, in relation to the rights
of refugees, asylum seekers, displaced people, human rights defenders, torture victims,
and prisoners of conscience. I am a specialist in human rights in Central America and
Mexico and am fluent in Spanish and English. I have lived in Mexico since 2007.
I earned a Bachelor’s of Arts and Bachelor’s of Law from Macquarie University in
Australia, and am a PhD Candidate in Latin American Studies from the Australian
National University.
A significant part of my work has focused on the migration of people fleeing the Northern
Triangle region (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador) of Central America. Together with
my colleagues at the Americas Regional Office of Amnesty International, we have
published five research reports and briefings about the experiences of people fleeing in
the Northern Triangle in search of international protection. Since 2016 Amnesty
International has conducted intensive research and campaigning on asylum seekers and
refugees in Central America and North America.
This declaration summarizes some of Amnesty International’s principal findings in
relation to the asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants from Central America, often
referred to as the so-called “caravans.” The information is based on fact-finding
missions by Amnesty International researchers in October and November 2018 in
Guatemala, southern Mexico, and Mexico City.
Between October 23 and October 28, 2018, an Amnesty International delegation
conducted a fact-finding mission to southern Mexico and Guatemala. I participated in
this delegation. Our delegation visited the Mexican towns and cities of Huixtla,
Mapastepec, Tapachula, Ciudad Hidalgo and Frontera Talisman, and the towns of Ayutla,
Tecun Uman and el Carmen in Guatemala.
Case 4:18-cv-06810-JST Document 35-7 Filed 11/16/18 Page 2 of 3
On November 6, 2018, an Amnesty International delegation carried out research and
interviews at the sports facilities set up by Mexico City authorities to receives members
of the caravan.
During its fact-finding missions Amnesty International found that the caravans are made
up of people with special protection needs such as children, women, LGBT! people,
young people, unaccompanied children, and people with disabilities. In total, Amnesty
International spoke to approximately 200 members of the caravans, individually and in
focus groups, at different points along the route. Amnesty International researchers
collected numerous testimonies of members of the caravans who had recently
experienced direct attacks on their lives and were forced to flee Central America. These
testimonies were echoed by the corroboration we were constantly carrying out at all times
with international organizations including agencies of the United Nations in the field,
whose staff told us they were also registering high numbers of people with protection
needs.
The departure of thousands of Central Americans from their countries in recent weeks
shows that people continue to flee desperately in search of protection. Amnesty
International has documented that in Honduras and El Salvador in particular, people are
exposed to forced recruitment of children, extortion, death threats and even murder by
the maras, which are powerful violent criminal groups that exercise territorial control in
various parts of these countries. Amnesty International has noted the presence in the
caravans of many people who fled direct persecution and recent acts of violence by
maras in Honduras and El Salvador.
Amnesty International observed the precarious humanitarian situation of the people in
the caravans. Most of them have been exposed to the elements, walking during the day
under very high temperatures in certain parts of Guatemala and Mexico, or sleeping on
the ground itself in public spaces, parks or sidewalks, including families. Multiple cases
of dehydration have been reported, including in children in Guatemala and Mexico, as
well as other ailments, including burns, colds, conjunctivitis, fainting, and diarrhea
related to lack of adequate food. The testimonies also revealed extreme fatigue and acute
hunger.
Unlike some previous caravans that have passed through Mexico, according to the
information Amnesty International has received, the Mexican government in October and
November 2018 has not offered transit passes to the members of this caravan. Amnesty
International has received several reports based on interviews with members of the
caravan that have said that they are still undecided about whether to remain in Mexico or
to seek asylum in the U.S., and they will make their decision once arriving in Tijuana.
Mexico's asylum agency (COMAR) currently has no office based in Tijuana. Amnesty
International is unaware of its staff being deployed to this northern border city.
2
Case 4:18-cv-06810-JST Document 35-7 Filed 11/16/18 Page 3 of 3
I hereby declare under the penalty of perjury that the above is true and correct to the
best of my knowledge.
[illegible]
Madeleine Penman
Executed this 16th day of November 2018


File and source

File

gov.uscourts.cand.334557.35.7.pdf

Size

1,182,287 bytes

SHA-256

eb3403ca4dfeb9fdf87fd8327080dc4d1da1edbcbdd7da0e90b7fb94cd9dbcda

Our copy

gov.uscourts.cand.334557.35.7.pdf

Original

archive.org