Over 18,000 people follow the Facebook page created by Josh Rubin, Witness at the Border. Here are a few profiles:

Karla Barber is a retired IT professional living in Dallas, Texas. She was a witness at the Tornillo, Texas and Homestead, Florida detention facilities for migrant children. Barber was a lead organizer for the Witness project in Brownsville/Matamoros, and for all of our events.

Camilo Perez Bustillo is Executive Director of the National Lawyer’s Guild, San Francisco. He was Visiting Professor of Human Rights and Social Justice at National Taiwan University and a Fellow in the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford. He is former director of research and advocacy at Hope Border Institute, El Paso, holds dual citizenship in Colombia and the US, and lived in Mexico City for many years.

Thomas Cartwright is a retired financial executive from Columbus, Ohio. Now a global refugee advocate, Cartwright travels several times a year to volunteer in refugee camps in Greece, and lobbies regularly for the rights of migrants in the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Lee Goodman is a retired attorney from Northbrook, Illinois, who works on immigration and other public policy and social justice issues. He is a principal organizer with the grassroots group Peaceful Communities and has volunteered with Witness at the Border since its original presence in Tornillo, Texas.

Alessandra Mondolfi is an artist and activist based in Miami, Florida. She is the recipient of the 2019 Backbone Award: “Virtuosic Artful Activism,” and was also honored for her work at the 2019 ACLU of Florida Greater Miami Chapter's Bill of Rights Reception and Awards Presentation. Mondolfi was raised in Venezuela.

Joshua Rubin, a software developer from Brooklyn, New York, is the founder of Witness at the Border. He was a witness at the Tornillo, Texas and later Homestead, Florida influx detention facilities for migrant children, which held over 3,000 children at their peak. Rubin led the Witness project on the ground in Brownsville/Matamoros in early 2020, and continues to lead the Biden-era Witness project.

Margaret Seiler is an activist, educator and writer living in upstate New York. She was a founding member of Team TLC NYC, a grassroots group providing assistance to asylum seekers in NYC. She and Joshua Rubin were members of Don’t Separate Families in Brooklyn.

Julie Swift is a retired teacher, museum educator and exhibit coordinator. She is a native Texan who now lives full time in Southern New Mexico and is active in local Democratic politics. She is aligned with groups fighting for political and social justice. “Vote in Texas to help turn it blue. Y’all means all.” 

Sarah Towle is an award-winning London-based author, international educator, and human rights defender. She can be found on Substack, with excerpts and sneak peeks from her forthcoming book, CROSSING THE LINE: FINDING AMERICA IN THE BORDERLANDS (2024). She is the host and creator of the podcast From the Borderlands, formerly Witness Radio.

To find out more about how to become a witness, write to us at witnessmpp@gmail.com.