Dozens of people protested on Monday in front of the Federal Building in San Francisco to demand that immigration authorities end Title 42, a policy that does not allow people to request asylum at the border supposedly due to the pandemic. “That cruelty they commit by returning them, because they put us more at risk, we have been fleeing violence, and far from shaking hands, they throw dirt at us,” said one of those attending the demonstration. During the event, the case of a young woman, 21 years old, was presented who, although she was present at the scene, preferred to only have her testimony read. In it she described how she was returned on a bus to Mexico, was detained by the police and then allegedly handed over to a drug cartel. "On the way we found out that the police had handed us over to the cartel, they kept us kidnapped for 20 days, we had no food, no water, and without being able to use a bathroom," said the young woman. The protesters also denounced that this policy has been used to discriminate against people, since, for example, on March 11, an exception was authorized for people from Ukraine. “And it is not to say that people from Ukraine do not deserve to enter, yes of course they do, but every human deserves the opportunity to request asylum and security for their families and themselves,” said Abril Newman, spokesperson for the Immigrant Justice Collaborative of California. Every 60 days this Title 42 is reevaluated by the Center for Disease Control, the hope of these groups is that on March 30 it will be completely suspended.
