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When the Desert Becomes a Weapon The Desert Should Not Be a Death Sentence
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TUCSON — The desert borderlands of the Southwest are a death trap for migrants. In the summer, the temperature can rise past 115 degrees, and in the winter it can drop below freezing. Water is scarce; shade is almost nonexistent.TUCSON — The desert borderlands of the Southwest are a death trap for migrants. In the summer, the temperature can rise past 115 degrees, and in the winter it can drop below freezing. Water is scarce; shade is almost nonexistent.
Some 8,000 people attempting to enter the United States have died in this region since the 1990s. Their shoes, empty water jugs and abandoned rosaries litter the landscape.Some 8,000 people attempting to enter the United States have died in this region since the 1990s. Their shoes, empty water jugs and abandoned rosaries litter the landscape.
Volunteers from our organization, No More Deaths/No Más Muertes, hike year-round along remote trails in the Arizona section of the Sonoran Desert, which spans Arizona, California and northwestern Mexico. We leave water, food, blankets and other basic necessities along the desert’s migration corridors.Volunteers from our organization, No More Deaths/No Más Muertes, hike year-round along remote trails in the Arizona section of the Sonoran Desert, which spans Arizona, California and northwestern Mexico. We leave water, food, blankets and other basic necessities along the desert’s migration corridors.
But the federal government is trying to make our humanitarian aid criminal.But the federal government is trying to make our humanitarian aid criminal.
Eleven months ago, a longtime volunteer with us, Scott Warren, was arrested in the small border town of Ajo, Ariz., for having provided food, water and shelter to two undocumented people. He was charged with two federal counts of harboring and one count of conspiracy to harbor. If convicted at his trial, which begins next month in Federal District Court in Tucson, he will face up to 20 years in prison.Eleven months ago, a longtime volunteer with us, Scott Warren, was arrested in the small border town of Ajo, Ariz., for having provided food, water and shelter to two undocumented people. He was charged with two federal counts of harboring and one count of conspiracy to harbor. If convicted at his trial, which begins next month in Federal District Court in Tucson, he will face up to 20 years in prison.
The harboring charge against Mr. Warren is part of a long-term government strategy to send a dangerous message: Humanitarian aid to migrants is a crime. The government has tried all sorts of maneuvers to prosecute good Samaritans in the desert — from charging our volunteers with harboring and transporting to issuing misdemeanors for “abandoning personal property” in a wildlife refuge (by leaving gallons of water for migrants) and using restricted roads without a permit.The harboring charge against Mr. Warren is part of a long-term government strategy to send a dangerous message: Humanitarian aid to migrants is a crime. The government has tried all sorts of maneuvers to prosecute good Samaritans in the desert — from charging our volunteers with harboring and transporting to issuing misdemeanors for “abandoning personal property” in a wildlife refuge (by leaving gallons of water for migrants) and using restricted roads without a permit.
These legal actions against our volunteers are just one component of a wider movement against undocumented people in the United States. The deployment of active-duty troops to the border, widespread family separations and increasingly violent rhetoric from the Trump administration are all churning wheels in an apparatus of policies intended to make crossing the border a death sentence.These legal actions against our volunteers are just one component of a wider movement against undocumented people in the United States. The deployment of active-duty troops to the border, widespread family separations and increasingly violent rhetoric from the Trump administration are all churning wheels in an apparatus of policies intended to make crossing the border a death sentence.
In the past decade, migrant deaths have risen even as attempted crossings have decreased, because the militarized border pushes people into the desert’s most remote regions. It is impossible to carry enough water to survive even a two- or three-day trek through the barren reaches of the Sonoran. Without help, migrants die painful, cruel deaths — often alone, delirious with fatigue, hunger and thirst.In the past decade, migrant deaths have risen even as attempted crossings have decreased, because the militarized border pushes people into the desert’s most remote regions. It is impossible to carry enough water to survive even a two- or three-day trek through the barren reaches of the Sonoran. Without help, migrants die painful, cruel deaths — often alone, delirious with fatigue, hunger and thirst.
The government knows just how deadly the conditions along our southern border are. In 1994, the Clinton administration initiated the strategy of “Prevention Through Deterrence,” sealing off urban entry points into the country and instituting new checkpoints along major routes farther north. Border towns gained military-grade infrastructure: sensors, barbed wire and a big increase in Border Patrol agents.The government knows just how deadly the conditions along our southern border are. In 1994, the Clinton administration initiated the strategy of “Prevention Through Deterrence,” sealing off urban entry points into the country and instituting new checkpoints along major routes farther north. Border towns gained military-grade infrastructure: sensors, barbed wire and a big increase in Border Patrol agents.
Policymakers didn’t bother outfitting the entire length of the border with a wall because they knew that parts of the terrain were so harsh that people would die trying to cross them. The desert became a weapon — a formidable expanse that swallowed crossers whole.Policymakers didn’t bother outfitting the entire length of the border with a wall because they knew that parts of the terrain were so harsh that people would die trying to cross them. The desert became a weapon — a formidable expanse that swallowed crossers whole.
Before I moved to Arizona to join relief efforts, I had little sense of how unforgiving the desert is. The first time I hiked out with other volunteers to leave supplies, I was stunned by how endless the sky and earth felt. But I soon began to see each part of the landscape within the context of a migrant’s journey: The underbrush was thorny, the creatures poisonous, and the silence of the wide emptiness eerie. Ajo, where Mr. Warren was arrested, is 43 miles from the border — a long journey to make in such brutal conditions.Before I moved to Arizona to join relief efforts, I had little sense of how unforgiving the desert is. The first time I hiked out with other volunteers to leave supplies, I was stunned by how endless the sky and earth felt. But I soon began to see each part of the landscape within the context of a migrant’s journey: The underbrush was thorny, the creatures poisonous, and the silence of the wide emptiness eerie. Ajo, where Mr. Warren was arrested, is 43 miles from the border — a long journey to make in such brutal conditions.
Opponents of immigration contend that providing water and aid encourages migrants to make dangerous border crossings (a claim without evidence), but we know that people will continue to risk their lives to come to the United States so long as they feel unsafe in their home countries. Humanitarians give water to people who are dehydrated and food to people who are starving, regardless of their background or paperwork.Opponents of immigration contend that providing water and aid encourages migrants to make dangerous border crossings (a claim without evidence), but we know that people will continue to risk their lives to come to the United States so long as they feel unsafe in their home countries. Humanitarians give water to people who are dehydrated and food to people who are starving, regardless of their background or paperwork.
To continue to do our work, we need Americans to call the United States attorney’s office in Tucson and make clear that humanitarian aid is not a crime. And in the days and months to come, we ask people to get involved in the sanctuary movement, as there is not a place in the United States untouched by the border crisis. There are many ways to engage in compassionate sanctuary work locally — from petitioning city councils to pass legislation welcoming migrant communities to joining rapid-response squads mobilizing against deportations. Aid groups should be allowed to operate without government harassment and prosecution. Aid workers should have access to public lands so long as they remain active migration corridors.To continue to do our work, we need Americans to call the United States attorney’s office in Tucson and make clear that humanitarian aid is not a crime. And in the days and months to come, we ask people to get involved in the sanctuary movement, as there is not a place in the United States untouched by the border crisis. There are many ways to engage in compassionate sanctuary work locally — from petitioning city councils to pass legislation welcoming migrant communities to joining rapid-response squads mobilizing against deportations. Aid groups should be allowed to operate without government harassment and prosecution. Aid workers should have access to public lands so long as they remain active migration corridors.
Documents are not a prerequisite for human kindness. Everyone has a right to food, water and safe passage.Documents are not a prerequisite for human kindness. Everyone has a right to food, water and safe passage.
Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler is on the staff of the advocacy group No More Deaths/No Más Muertes.Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler is on the staff of the advocacy group No More Deaths/No Más Muertes.
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