SAN DIEGO — Today, in response to his State of the Union address, Alliance San Diego issued a letter to President Biden calling on him to ‘defend our democracy’ by protecting human rights here at home so that all of us can live with dignity. Alliance was compelled to write this letter because of tragic and ongoing violations of human rights in the United States.

In 2023, Alliance San Diego launched the Start With Dignity campaign to draw attention to human rights violations and to build momentum to elevate, claim, and protect dignity. The letter sent today amplifies the campaign and focuses on the discriminatory, arbitrary and abusive enforcement by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, which violate international treaties and human rights obligations. In October 2023, Alliance San Diego led a Dignity Delegation from the borderlands to testify before the United Nations in Geneva during its review of the United States for treaty compliance. As a result, the UN Human Rights Committee concluded that the United States was violating international treaties. Shortly thereafter, two other UN bodies found the same.  

In the coming year, Alliance San Diego will continue to build momentum to claim dignity for our communities here at home, especially in the borderlands. We stand ready to be a partner in change with the Biden administration and any elected officials who commit to create a more inclusive democracy.