Ari Sawyer

Ari Sawyer is the border researcher for the US Program at Human Rights Watch. Their work has focused on Border Patrol abuses and the need for accountability, and the mistreatment of migrants and asylum seekers by both the United States and Mexico, including by the use of the “Remain in Mexico” program, turnbacks of asylum seekers, and the Title 42 summary border expulsion policy, which uses public health as a false justification to expel migrants, and the now-defunct Asylum Cooperative Agreement with Guatemala.  

Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Ari worked as a journalist covering night crime and immigration. They graduated with honors from California State University, Long Beach where they studied journalism and international studies, and they hold a master’s degree in International Policy and Development from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey where they focused on migration, trafficking, and human security.