Everyone deserves to live a life free from violence. That’s why at Tahirih, we believe that people seeking safety in the U.S. should be met with an asylum system that understands the trauma they have endured, instead of exposing them to more harm.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for survivors of gender-based violence who arrive at the southern border seeking protection here in the United States.

A new report by the Tahirih Justice Center and Oxfam America reveals how common it is for people seeking asylum to experience gender-based violence in Mexico while waiting to access the asylum process in the U.S.

In an article featured in the Mountain View Voice reporter, reporter Malea Martin, interviewed Morgan Weibel, the executive director for Tahirih’s San Francisco/Bay area office in a preview coverage of Soaring in Concert — a concert benefit organized by Aaron Bao, a high school sophomore in Los Altos, California. 

The Tahirih Justice Center is proud to announce that Soaring in Concert, a benefit concert supporting the organization’s work, raised over $30,000, surpassing its original goal. This event was made possible by the efforts of Aaron Bao, a rising high school sophomore at the Harker School in San Jose, California, his family, and their community.  

Tahirih’s policy work is rooted in our core values and in our specific theory of change. Inspired by the Bahá’í faith and grounded in our belief in the oneness of humanity, we reach for a society that embraces our diversity and guarantees everyone’s human rights. Our mission is to advance policies and laws that enable immigrant survivors of gender-based violence to pursue legal immigration status, live in safety, and forge their own paths. Everything we do is in service of that goal.

The immigration system is shattered. Survivors are denied access to safety because of policies and practices that could be fixed. The Tahirih Justice Center is prioritizing the following policy goals to immediately improve protections for immigrant survivors while simultaneously seeking long-term, systemic change.

My New Red Shoes (MNRS) is proud to announce Project Empower, a new basic income pilot that will provide direct cash assistance to immigrant survivors of gender-based violence and their children. In partnership with Tahirih Justice Center, a national non-profit organization serving immigrant survivors, and Community Financial Resources, a national economic justice non-profit, MNRS is providing participant households across the San Francisco Bay Area with $1,000 a month for 6 months, beginning March 2022.

This year, we are celebrating a monumental milestone at our organization – it has been 25 years since our doors opened, and we have served more than 30,000 immigrant survivors of gender-based violence.

For International Migrants Day 2021, Tahirih condemns the unjust detention of migrants and survivors who are seeking asylum.