Media
Number Of Immigrants Who've Miscarried While In ICE Detention Doubles
- by Andrea Gonzales-Ramirez, Refinery 29
- Published: Monday, March 4, 2019
Katharina Obser, senior policy of migrant rights and justice at the Women's Refugee Commission, told Refinery29 that advocates have been concerned about the treatment and detention of pregnant women in ICE detention facilities for a long time. "These are not appropriate conditions for pregnant women," she told Refinery29. "[These centres are] already a punitive and inappropriate place for the populations who are being detained there, let alone for someone with the specific medical needs that a pregnant women might have."
Gender-Based Violence in Refugee Camps: Understanding and Addressing the Role of Gender in the Experiences of Refugees
- by Mie A. Jensen, Inquiries Journal
- Published: Friday, March 1, 2019
The Women’s RefugeeCommission (2016) investigated the Eastern European route. They found that fundamental health care services in transit centres can be difficult to access. Furthermore, there are few interpreters available, which hinders women from seeking help (UNHCR, UNFPA, WRC 2016:8-9); 88% ‘did not know where to obtain contraceptives’, and 25% ‘did not know where to access services if they became pregnant’ (Al Jazeera 2017). Moreover, transit centres are mainly gender-mixed, which leaves women extremely vulnerable.
Immigrant Miscarriages in ICE Detention Have Nearly Doubled Under Trump
- by Scott Bixby, Daily Beast
- Published: Friday, March 1, 2019
“Custody is never a good place for pregnant women, and we have in the past heard really devastating stories of both mothers’ and babies’ health being at risk,” said Brané, who dismissed the administration’s policy of not detaining immigrant women in their third trimester as medically insufficient.
“The risks of a pregnancy are not nonexistent before the third trimester,” Brané said. “Being in immigration custody is problematic when you are pregnant, no matter what phase of pregnancy you are in, especially when you take into account the effects of stress.”
Since Trump restricted flow at border, more migrants trying to sneak through undetected
- by Julia Ainsley, NBC News
- Published: Friday, March 1, 2019
Michelle Brané, director of the Women's Refugee Commission, said 9 out of 10 immigrants she spoke to in CBP custody would tell her and her staff they made the choice to cross illegally after other migrants told them the line to enter legally would mean a long wait in a dangerous place. 17, 201904:50
"They would say, 'There was a line and they told me I would get turned away,' or, 'People told me it's too dangerous and you can't get in that way,'" Brané said.
DeLauro leads probe of Trump administration’s treatment of detained migrant youth
- by Ana Radelat, The Connecticut Mirror
- Published: Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Michelle Brané, of the Women’s Refugee Commission, and others, did accept the committee’s invitation to testify.
She said several Trump administration policies have led to longer stays in custody and lack of appropriate facilities to house the migrant children, including the policy of separating children from their parents at the border. Children are usually released to family members but many of these people are being deported, Brané said, under the administration’s more aggressive deportation policies.
Migrant Woman’s Pregnancy Ends in Stillbirth, in ICE Detention
- by Scott Bixby, Daily Beast
- Published: Monday, February 25, 2019
“Especially because of the way that the U.S. government has been metering ports of entry,” Brané said, referring to a policy that only allows a few asylum seekers entry into the country at a time, “people are arriving in more and more precarious health. Especially for a pregnant woman, it’s not surprising that she arrived in distress.”
Mom, daughter separated at border reunited at Houston airport
- by Lomi Kriel, Houston Chronicle
- Published: Thursday, February 21, 2019
"We don't know exactly how many children were separated and there's no question (the government's) complete lack of tracking makes it complicated and is outrageous, irresponsible, and frankly, criminally negligent," said Michelle Brané, director of migrant rights at the Women's Refugee Commission and part of the steering committee that helped find families covered by Sabraw's order.
Where Do We Go From Here? Moving Forward with the Gender Equality Objective of the Call to Action Road Map
- by ReliefWeb
- Published: Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Gender-based violence is deeply rooted in gender inequality and women’s disempowerment. GBV is one of the primary obstacles to achieving gender equality, and gender inequality perpetuates norms that promote GBV. In order to effect change on GBV, gender equality programming must be an integral part of the work.
The Women's Refugee Commission has issued a brief that focuses on the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-based Violence in Emergencies, and how it addresses the linkages between gender inequality and gender-based violence (GBV).
Lawsuit Challenges Latest Anti-immigration Policy: Detaining Asylum Seekers in Mexico
- by Karen Kahn, Nonprofit Quarterly
- Published: Monday, February 18, 2019
“It may look like it’s working in the short term,” said [Michelle] Brané [the director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission], “but I don’t think it’s a long-term solution. It’s driving people further into the shadows and that’s exactly the opposite of what we want.”
Congress passed a mixed-bag of immigration policy while Trump was focused on the wall
- by Caitlin Dickson,Yahoo News
- Published: Monday, February 18, 2019
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s own Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued multiple reports on ICE’s problematic detention practices and, moreover, the agency’s poor inspection and oversight processes," Katharina Obser, senior policy adviser for the Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission, said in a statement. “This is a system that needs an overhaul, not expansion.”
With Trump’s Tough Deterrents, Many Asylum Seekers on the Border are Giving Up
- by Jose A. Del Real, Caitlin Dickerson, and Miriam Jordan, New York Times
- Published: Saturday, February 16, 2019
Michelle Brané, the director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission, warned that while Mr. Trump’s tough policies may discourage the undeserving, they might also endanger people who need protection.
Asylum-seekers sent to Mexico; rights groups sue
- by Guam Daily Post
- Published: Saturday, February 16, 2019
"Both the U.S. and Mexican governments know that the border area is unsafe for women and children," Michelle Brané, director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program at the Women's Refugee Commission, said in a statement on the decision to return the families to Mexico.
Migrant rights groups sue as US starts sending families back to Mexico
- by RT
- Published: Friday, February 15, 2019
"Both the US and Mexican governments know that the border area is unsafe for women and children," said Migrants' Rights and Justice Program Director Michelle Brane at the Women's Refugee Commission.
The Trump Administration Has Sent The First Asylum-Seeking Families Back To Mexico
- by Adolfo Flores, BuzzFeed News
- Published: Thursday, February 14, 2019
Michelle Brané, director of the migrant rights and justice program at the Women’s Refugee Commission, said the policy was a violation of US and international law.
“That the Trump administration has chosen to endanger children by returning families seeking protection to danger in Mexico should surprise no one,” Brané said in a statement. "This administration has deliberately and methodically launched assault after assault on asylum-seeking families."
U.S. sends first families to Mexico to await asylum, rights groups sue
- by Lizbeth Diaz and Mica Rosenberg, Reuters
- Published: Thursday, February 14, 2019
Trump 'Remain In Mexico Plan' Initiating Today Endangers Migrants' Lives - Advocacy Group
- by Zeeshan Aziz | UrduPoint
- Published: Friday, January 25, 2019
The Trump administration's launching of the Remain in Mexico Plan on Friday will endanger the lives of migrants seeking asylum in the United States, Women's Refugee Commission's Migrant Rights and Justice Director Michelle Brane said in a press release.
"Today's action by the Trump administration to send asylum-seekers back to Mexico is disgraceful and will result in the loss of life for vulnerable people seeking safety," Brane said in the release on Friday.
Uganda Hosts Africa's Largest Refugee Population
- by Sulaiman Momodu | InDepth News
- Published: Thursday, January 24, 2019
Mugisha Willent, 26, a refugee from the DRC, remembered fleeing Goma in 2000. “All I knew was that there was fighting going on.” Now, “Uganda has given us peace, land and more. I call Uganda home,” she told African Renewal.
This year, Willent was one of three women to win a Voices of Courage Award from the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York.
I on Politics: Meng’s Bill Protects Women and Girls in Refugee Camps
- by John Toscano | Queens Gazette
- Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Refugee camps around the world often fail to provide safe and secure infrastructure that allows women and girls to use the restroom safely and with dignity. In particular, there is limited access to sanitation facilities and those that exist are often mixed sex, public, and without locks or well-lit paths. Of the 42 million people who have had to flee their homes due to war, 80 percent are women and children, and at least 10 million are estimated to be girls, according to a report by the Women’s Refugee Commission.
Uganda stands out in refugee hospitality
- by The Southern Times
- Published: Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Mugisha Willent, 26, a refugee from the DRC, remembered fleeing Goma in 2000. “All I knew was that there was fighting going on.” Now, “Uganda has given us peace, land and more. I call Uganda home,” she told African Renewal.
This year, Willent was one of three women to win a Voices of Courage Award from the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York.
Uganda Offers Open-Door Hospitality to Refugees
- by Africa Renewal
- Published: Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Mugisha Willent, 26, a refugee from the DRC, remembered fleeing Goma in 2000. “All I knew was that there was fighting going on.” Now, “Uganda has given us peace, land and more. I call Uganda home,” she told African Renewal.
This year, Ms. Willent was one of three women to win a Voices of Courage Award from the Women’s Refugee Commission in New York.
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