The issue & our goal

Dear fellow human, 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. 

BE HUMAN, STL is a community effort of your local bars and restaurants to raise funds, awareness, and response for the human rights abuses of immigrants and refugees on the US-Mexico border and around the country.

Persons fleeing persecution in their home countries are entitled to legal protection under U.S. immigration law and international human rights treaties. Yet at the moment, many Central American refugees seeking asylum in this country are being denied entry, and are often detained for weeks or months at the border. News reports have detailed how these refugees — who have fled gang and domestic violence in their home countries — are treated like criminals upon their arrival to the U.S. Thousands have been crammed into prison-like border centers, where they are subjected to physical and mental abuse and denied access to basic needs such as sleep, showers, restrooms, food and clean water. Families have been separated from each other, and to this day many children at the border have not yet been reunited with their parents.

BE HUMAN, STL urges you to take notice of these atrocities on our border and to support organizations that are fighting for refugees lawfully seeking asylum in the U.S. Together, we must stand up for those in need and BE HUMAN.

In the month of November you can show your support by simply dining/drinking at the participating establishments in St. Louis. These venues pledged to donate up to 5% of net November sales to RAICES and the MICA Project —  two non profits providing legal support to refugees and unaccompanied minors on the border and in St. Louis.

BE HUMAN, STL also asks that you take time to read and learn about this issue. If we speak out together, our voices have a better chance of being heard.

More information about the situation:

Office of Inspector General Management Alert Report (07/02/2019)

Informational interview with Professor Lucas Guttentag – Stanford Law School (04/22/2019)

The Trump administration’s separation of families at the border, explained. Vox (08/14/2018)

Go out, Speak out, Help out

GO OUT

The following St. Louis businesses, many of which are immigrant or female owned already pledged to donate up to 5% of total sales for the month of November to RAICES and MICA Project. Would you like to join the effort, and be added to this list? If so please don’t hesitate to contact us!

SPEAK OUT

Put pressure on your elected officials!

Call them and tell them what your stance is on the inhumane conditions at the border. Make sure to list your full address if leaving a voice mail. 

    • Josh Howley Senator 202.224.6154
    • Roy Blunt Senator 202.224.5721
    • Blaine Luetkemeyer house representative 202.225.2956

Engage your friends in this conversation. Learn about the issues on the border and get your family and friends fired up about this. We know this is not a fun discussion, but a necessary one. 

HELP OUT

Easiest way to help is to donate to or volunteer for the organizations currently on the ground working to get the refugees out. We chose to focus on RAICES and MICA Project, however there are many other organizations to choose from. Here are some of them:

Local organizations working to support immigrants and refugees:

Here is a link to a list of national nonprofits working to support immigrants and refuges.

You can also:

  • Support prominent organizations such as A.C.L.U. and Amnesty International that work tirelessly to fight for and protect human rights here and around the world.
  • Organize a BeHuman fundraising effort in your industry/town/community! We’ll be glad to share the concept.
  • Organize a protest
  • VOTE for immigrant friendly candidates and policies

Most importantly – never ignore human rights abuse and BE HUMAN!

About RAICES and MICA Project

As part of our effort we teamed up with numerous prominent restaurants in St. Louis, many of which are immigrant owned, these businesses pledge to donate up to 5% of their sales from the month of November to RAICES and MICA – non profit organizations that are dedicated to providing legal support and immigration services to refugees on the border and here in St. Louis, as well as working to reunify families and provide legal support to unaccompanied children.  We chose these organizations because of their relentless dedication to protecting migrant rights and focusing on what they need most – legal help.

RAICES – the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services is a non profit agency that promotes justice by providing free and low-cost legal services to underserved immigrant children, families, and refugees. They are working hard to reunite families, provide legal support to unaccompanied children and get people out of detention .  Learn more about RAICES HERE

MICA – The Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project  is a local St. Louis non profit that provides legal support to immigrant and refugees here in St. Louis, works with immigrant communities to address the issues affecting people’s lives. Read more about MICA and what they do HERE.

Contact

Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or ideas.

BeHumanSTL@gmail.com