We, the Coordinating Council for Refugees (“CCFR”),

This is a response to the recent BBCnews article that was published on the topic of Ukrainian refugees in Mexico. More specifically, we would like to comment on the use of the phrase “improper documentation.”

Members of our organization have been assisting Ukrainian and other nationals fleeing Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine on the Mexico/United States border at Tijuana and San Diego since March 22nd, 2022. As part of this effort, we have been working with or advising United with Ukraine (a coalition of churches) and other volunteers who mobilized to assist Ukrainian refugees, the Office of the US Consulate General in Tijuana, California Border Patrol, the municipality of Tijuana, the government of Baja California, the Mexican Federal Immigration (GrupoBeta), Al Otro Lado, and others.

Over 20,000 Ukrainian nationals crossed the border under the humanitarian parole status. During these several weeks, all volunteers worked to ensure the safety and dignity of those fleeing Russian aggression utilizing the facilities and processes provided by both governments, often advocating with both governments on behalf of those fleeing. The people we assisted, 99% of whom were of Ukrainian nationality, by and large, all had proper identification. In select cases, there were individuals who traveled on an internal Ukrainian passport as some lost their international passports during the course of the war. 

We are fully confident in the professionalism of the California Border Patrol to process individuals safely, lawfully, and diligently at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, where up to 90,000 individuals pass through per day. We witnessed firsthand their humanity and desire to help the refugees, who lost everything in the war, while also diligently protecting the safety and interests of the American people. 

We feel that the quote in the BBC article of the unnamed official may have been taken out of context when stating that 15,000 Ukrainians who passed into the United States lacked proper identification. Such a mislabel has the ability to harm the reputations of many hard-working and diligent California Border Patrol professionals, as well as inadvertently create a negative image for the refugees inside the United States. We sincerely hope a correction to the published article is made in response to our statement.

Sincerely,

CCFR board of directors