Melanie Nezer: The fundamental right to seek asylum
Melanie Nezer: El derecho fundamental a buscar asilo
Melanie Nezer is a national leader in efforts to inform and educate individuals, institutions, elected officials and communities about refugees and asylum seekers. Full bio
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from a woman named Ellie.
de una mujer llamada Ellie.
familiares en la frontera sur
separations at the southern border
what she could do to help.
qué podía hacer para ayudar.
of her grandfather and his father.
de su abuelo y su padre.
and told them to walk west,
les dijo que caminaran hacia el oeste;
atravesado Europa.
west across Europe,
atravesando Europa,
and they got to America.
y llegaron a EE. UU.
the stories of the teens
las historias de los adolescentes
was her grandfather and his brother.
era en su abuelo y su hermano.
were exactly the same.
eran exactamente las mismas.
the Hassenfeld Brothers --
los hermanos Hassenfeld,
Mr. Potato Head.
I'm telling you this story.
para contarles esta historia.
because it made me think
porque me hizo pensar sobre
and I have three of them --
be safe where we were,
a salvo donde estábamos,
at the southern US border,
en la frontera sur de EE. UU.
asylum seekers.
de asilo centroamericanos.
I've been at HIAS,
for refugee rights around the world,
derechos de los refugiados en el mundo,
is that, sometimes,
make us safer and stronger
nos harán más seguros y fuertes,
have the opposite of the intended results
producen un efecto contrario
and unnecessary suffering.
un sufrimiento tremendo e innecesario.
at our southern border?
a nuestra frontera sur?
that are coming to our southern border
que llegan a nuestra frontera sur,
Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Guatemala, Honduras y El Salvador.
constantemente clasificados
countries in the world.
in these countries,
en estos países,
for yourself and your family.
un futuro para Uds. y su familia.
women and girls is pervasive.
y las niñas es generalizada.
have been coming to our shores,
han venido a nuestras costas,
de los años 80,
was deeply involved.
there's been a spike in families,
hay un aumento de familias,
showing up at checkpoints
a los puestos de control
últimamente en las noticias,
as you see those images.
algunas cosas cuando vean esas imágenes.
of interceptions at the southern border,
alto de intercepciones en la frontera sur
themselves at checkpoints.
en los puestos de control.
with the clothes on their backs;
con solo la ropa que llevan a la espalda;
literalmente en chanclas.
powerful country in the world.
más poderoso del mundo.
of the destination country
del país de destino
with these questions
luchan con estas preguntas
about their families
very different questions:
and in international law.
leyes y en el derecho internacional.
de Refugiados de 1951,
to the Holocaust
del mundo al Holocausto
would we return people to countries
a las personas a los países
los refugiados vienen a este país.
refugees come to this country.
Admisiones de Refugiados de EE. UU.
Admissions Program.
and selects refugees abroad
EE. UU. identifica y selecciona
y los trae a EE. UU.
la cifra más pequeña de refugiados
the program began in 1980.
la cifra sea aún menor.
hay más refugiados en el mundo
more refugees in the world
en la historia registrada,
in recorded history,
come to this country is by seeking asylum.
llegan a este país es buscando asilo.
who present themselves at a border
que se presentan en una frontera
if they're sent back home.
si son reenviados de regreso a casa.
who's going through the process
por el proceso en EE. UU.
the refugee definition.
con la definición de refugiado.
more difficult to seek asylum.
solicitar asilo.
la gente que se presentan en las fronteras
when they show up at our borders
that they simply can't apply.
que no pueden solicitarlo.
"Migrant Protection Protocols,"
"Protocolos de protección al migrante",
tienen que esperar en México
they have to wait in Mexico
a través de los tribunales en EE. UU.
through the courts in the United States,
has detained over 3,000 children,
ha detenido a más de 3000 niños
para los solicitantes de asilo.
a six-year-old blind girl.
una niña ciega de seis años.
in what are virtually prisons
lo que en realidad son cárceles,
no han cometido ningún delito.
the hallmark of our immigration system.
nuestro sistema de inmigración.
on a hill or a beacon of hope
la ciudad brillante en una colina,
nos gusta hablar de nosotros
about ourselves and our values.
and it always will be.
con nosotros, y siempre lo estará.
las personas huyen:
persecution, war, violence,
cambio climático...
what life is like in other places --
cómo es la vida en otros lugares
policies that reflect our values
políticas que reflejen nuestros valores.
given the reality in the world.
dada la realidad en el mundo.
is dial back the toxic rhetoric
es contener la retórica tóxica
debate on this issue for too long.
sobre el tema durante demasiado tiempo.
because my grandparents were.
porque mis abuelos sí lo fueron.
didn't see her kids for seven years,
durante siete años,
de Polonia a Nueva York.
from Poland to New York.
when he was seven
él tenía siete años,
until he was 14.
left Poland in the 1930s
en la década de 1930
the British Mandate of Palestine,
el mandato británico de Palestina,
her family and friends again.
a su familia y amigos.
to global migration and displacement
a la migración mundial y al desplazamiento
migration something that isn't a crisis
la migración no sea una crisis
as a global community.
como comunidad global.
a los países de América Central
to countries in Central America
we spend on enforcement and detention.
que gastamos en seguridad y detención,
have an asylum system that works.
un sistema de asilo que funcione.
del costo de un muro
de asilo tengan abogados
un sistema de asilo humano.
en el programa de refugiados:
in the refugee program:
15,000 Syrian refugees
a 15 000 refugiados sirios,
de refugiados de la historia.
refugee crisis on earth.
ese número fue de 62 personas.
and efforts to block immigration,
bloquear la inmigración
fuera del país,
en este país, según las encuestas,
in this country, according to polls,
and faith-based organizations,
humanitarias y religiosas,
tomar una posición
merece la pena oponerse,
or a policy that needs oversight.
una política que necesita supervisión.
one of these detention centers
de detención a lo largo de la frontera
about my call with Ellie
that the stories of her grandparents
que las historias de sus abuelos
for Mr. Potato Head,
del Sr. Cara de Papa,
a good story to leave with,
de la fuerza y el miedo.
and my relatives and your relatives
la de mis parientes y la de sus parientes
they're all the same.
when it says to the refugee,
ya estás aquí, estás a salvo".
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melanie Nezer - Refugee and immigrants rights attorneyMelanie Nezer is a national leader in efforts to inform and educate individuals, institutions, elected officials and communities about refugees and asylum seekers.
Why you should listen
Melanie Nezer is Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for HIAS, the American Jewish community's international refugee agency. Founded in 1881, HIAS is the oldest refugee agency in the world and has helped refugees from all over the world find safety and freedom. In 17 years at HIAS, Nezer has shaped much of the agency's policy and advocacy agenda and its legal work. She previously served as HIAS's Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, as Migration Policy Counsel and as Director of HIAS's Employment Visa Program, representing at-risk Jewish professionals and religious workers seeking to work in the US during times of instability and crisis in their home countries.
Before joining HIAS, Nezer was the Immigration Policy Director for the organization now known as US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, where -- in addition to conducting advocacy on immigration and asylum issues -- she was co-editor of Refugee Reports and a writer for the annual World Refugee Survey. Prior to her work in Washington DC, Nezer was in private legal practice in Miami, Florida, where she specialized in immigration law and criminal defense.
Learn more about Nezer's work by watching "The Ground Beneath My Children's Feet: Refugees and the Jewish Story," "'We Stand with You'": HIAS Responds to Synagogue Massacre with Message of Hope for Refugees," by listening to "HIAS Responds to Deadly Attack on Pittsburgh Synagogue," and by reading "Refugee Order Demystified, Q&A with Nezer of HIAS," and "The Global Plan for Dealing with Refugees Isn't Broken, It's Nearly Broke."
Melanie Nezer | Speaker | TED.com