Welcome to the March 2026 issue of CVT World, CVT’s periodic compilation of the latest news, stories and public activities from our team.
The Community Shows Up to Help CVT Clients During ICE Surge
“During our virtual meetings together there would be ICE near her building; they would be flying drones outside her window. It was just really scary,” said Anne Eichmeyer, program supervisor, in this article about what clients were facing during the worst days of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. CVT clinicians and additional staff, volunteers and the community stepped up to support clients during the worst of Operation Metro Surge in the Twin Cities. “Then as ICE started impersonating volunteers delivering food, it was getting harder and harder to actually connect with the clients and get the food to them,” said Laura Kuhlmann, development director. One client told her, “Thank you for showing me what being an American really is.”
Thank you for showing me what being an American really is.”
-CVT Minnesota-based client
What it Means to the World When the U.S. Steps Away from Human Rights
“. . . we’re in a situation of blatant defiance by the administration. And it matters not only in the United States but around the world,” writes Yumna Rizvi, senior policy analyst, in this article. She explains the global impacts of the Trump administration’s extensive America First agenda, writing, “With the viciousness and made-for-TV militarization of under-trained immigration officers, it was easy to forget that Operation Metro Surge was just the next step in the Trump administration’s extensive project to remove immigrants in defiance of human rights and international law.”
CVT Ethiopia Team Participates in Workshop on Victims’ Voices in Transitional Justice Efforts
The CVT Ethiopia team participated in this workshop hosted by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on ways to strengthen victims’ skills and voices in transitional justice efforts. Chane Fantaw, CVT counseling supervisor, and colleagues led a session on how human rights work impacts self-care and wellbeing, along with training on several aspects of risk management. The event was titled “Enhancing Victims’ Associations’ Technical and Advocacy Capacity to Engage in the National Transitional Justice Process” and was held in Addis.
Treatment of Immigrants after Detention is Despicable, Even Deadly
“The courts have ruled that sending people to unsafe third countries is illegal; surely it is illegal to release people to unsafe conditions inside the United States as well,” writes Yumna Rizvi in this statement as reports emerged of the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a Rohingya refugee who spoke no English and was nearly blind when abandoned by Customs and Border Patrol upon release from custody. Yumna notes that as a federal judge has just ruled transfer to third countries unconstitutional, it is time for accountability for these harms to immigrants.
The courts have ruled that sending people to unsafe third countries is illegal; surely it is illegal to release people to unsafe conditions inside the United States as well.”
-Yumna Rizvi, senior policy analyst
Refugees’ Experiences of a Trauma-Focused Physiotherapy Program
Ilona Fricker, clinical advisor for physiotherapy, is a co-author on this report in Physiotherapy Research International, which highlights the positive impacts on clients of trauma-focused physiotherapy approaches, including those used by CVT. The study found that these features were critical for successful outcomes for refugees who have experienced significant trauma.
New Report on International Syria Trials
CVT contributed to this new report by the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre, titled “Documenting the Syria War at Trial.” The report contains important analysis on Universal Jurisdiction trials conducted in Europe and the United States related to atrocity crimes committed during the Syrian conflict. The team monitored 15 trials between 2020-25, and the authors note that the report is valuable for its “empirical depth, its cross-jurisdictional perspective, and its focus on the lived experience of Syrian victims and witnesses within foreign legal systems.”
The Surge is Not Over: ICE Must Leave Minnesota
“It’s like there is this never-ending siege of tactics to deny New Americans due process and to violate human rights,” writes Alison Beckman, senior clinician for external relations, in this article, commenting on the surge of ICE and anti-immigration policies in the U.S., connecting the dots between the regimes our clients fled, the right to seek asylum and the conditions today in Minnesota. “The assault is not over and no one is going to be safe until is ended,” she writes.
The assault is not over and no one is going to be safe until is ended.”
-Alison Beckman, senior clinician for external relations
Working in Coalition with Partners
Working with partners brings strength to CVT’s policy advocacy. We regularly participate in organized coalition actions that support survivors of torture. Below are recent coalition and partner actions.
- Along with 250 organizations, CVT signed this letter to Congress calling for a halt to funding for the war on Iran. The authors write, “By launching a war against Iran, Trump has violated the Constitution, defied international law, flouted the will of the American people, and has put millions of lives across the region at risk.”
- CVT joined our partners at Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR) and many organizations in this statement recognizing the 5th anniversary of the Yazidi Survivors Law being enacted in Iraq. This law has resulted in important steps being taken for rights and reparations for victims of ISIL violence, with meaningful impacts. Yet, the authors note that further action is still needed to close remaining gaps for justice and accountability. The statement is referenced in this article in Development Policy Review.
- CVT joined 125 organizations in this letter to the Congressional Black Caucus, sent out ahead of the U.S. president’s State of the Union address. The letter was led by Black immigrant rights and civil rights groups, calling on members to defend Black communities being targeted as part of federal anti-immigration enforcement. The authors write, “Rather than isolated immigration policies, these actions are part of a longer history of federal systems being used to surveil, criminalize, and exclude Black communities— including Black immigrants, under the guise of public safety and national security.”
