Cartel violence in Mexico is real — that’s exactly why we need asylum 

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt spawned headlines this month for telling a flagrantly misleading anecdote about sex trafficking during the GOP response to President Biden’s State of the Union address.  

The way she politicized and misrepresented the context and timeline of the story presented was immoral, exploitative and wrong. But the hard truth is that kidnapping, violence and sexual exploitation remain a reality at the border — and in reality, Britt is among a legion of conservative voices whose anti-asylum policy stances would make the situation far worse. While the media has focused on her factual distortions, they haven’t yet fully delved into the hypocrisy that her policy positions represent in contrast to her remarks.  

Right now, Mexican human rights observers are still seeking justice for people seeking asylum who have been massacred and consigned to mass graves while passing through the country — many at the hands of Mexico’s powerful organized crime rings. These experts estimate that as many as 100,000 people have disappeared and remain missing in Mexico, in many cases due to gang-related conflict.  

Meanwhile, right-wing members of Congress, including Britt, are trying to restrict asylum at the U.S. border while calling on President Biden to restore policies like “Remain in Mexico.” Those who will benefit most from those proposed changes supported by Britt are the cartels.  

When the U.S. government turns asylum-seekers away at ports of entry, more of them pay smugglers to take them across remote stretches of the border. This generates a profit stream for the gangs while exposing the people who cross by these means to greater danger. Even worse, when U.S. policymakers block access to asylum at the border or expel more people to harm, they strand asylum-seekers in Mexican towns where they are far from their families and support networks. This puts them at greater risk of kidnapping and extortion from the cartels. 

It is no surprise, then, that when the U.S. government was routinely expelling and returning asylum-seekers to Mexico under the “Remain in Mexico” and Title 42 policies, rates of kidnapping and sexual violence soared. One report by human rights researchers documented more than 400 cases of kidnapped asylum-seekers under “Remain in Mexico,” along with hundreds of other violent attacks. Title 42, which expelled people before any review of their asylum claims, had a similar impact. 

For all her talk about opposing the cartels, Britt actually campaigns for policies that would deliver more innocent people to their clutches. She has publicly backed legislation that would enable the U.S. government to deport asylum-seekers more rapidly to Mexico without independently reviewing their case for protection. 

Many Democrats too — including President Biden — are also misguidedly demanding new legislative authority to restrict asylum, which would undoubtedly deliver more people to these same dangers.  

In the current political atmosphere, where both major parties are trying to clamp down on asylum, few, if anyone, is willing to state the obvious: If any of these politicians were actually serious about preventing cartel violence, they would fight to uphold asylum rights, not undermine them. They must allow people fleeing persecution to access U.S. soil and pursue their cases for protection here. Otherwise, more people will be stranded in deadly conditions. However, that requires politicians to prioritize people outside of their constituency.  

Britt’s misleading anecdote and tonally discordant delivery have provided much fodder for late-night comedians and pundits, but we shouldn’t let the online schadenfreude obscure the larger point. The real scandal of Britt’s speech is not just that she took a story out of context — it’s that the violence she described is a byproduct of precisely the types of policies she supports.  

The Rev. Mary Katherine Morn is president of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a faith-based international human rights organization based in Cambridge, Mass.