Fort Brown Humanitarian Respite Center
Spring 2019
In response to the current administration's inhumane treatment of immigrants at the Southern Border, my proposal for the Fort Brown Humanitarian Respite Center seeks to provide the resources and tools necessary for immigrants and refugees to quickly and safely build a better life in America. Located at the former Fort Brown Memorial Golf Course, this Respite Center sits north of the Rio Grande and south of the border wall—a "no man's land" that has lost its identity.
By providing short term housing, family and legal counseling, English classes, day care, and other necessary services, as well as a new public park, the Fort Brown Respite Center physically connects the twin cities of Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros, Mexico, restoring a centuries-old bond between communities. Michael Dear, author of Why Walls Won't Work, argues, “Walls won’t work because the border has long been a place of connectivity and collaboration. The border zone is a permeable membrane connecting two countries, where communities on both sides have strong senses of mutual dependence and attachment to territory.”