General Info
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Feds Hand Out 13 Littering Tickets |
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Thursday, 09 July 2009 14:32 |
Contact: No More Deaths, 520.240.1641
Attorney Margo Cowan, 520.850.0058
Two ministers and a Franciscan priest among those cited
Tucson, AZ – Thirteen humanitarian volunteers received littering tickets July 9 after putting out gallon jugs of life-saving water intended for migrants crossing the US/Mexico border.
The citations took place on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, which extends 30 miles north from the border in southern Arizona near the small town of Arivaca. The refuge is in a very active migrant corridor.
 This weekend’s weather forecast calls for temperatures reaching 110-degrees in southern Arizona. June and July are the deadliest months for individuals attempting the trek through the desert.
Members from three humanitarian aid groups—No More Deaths, Tucson Samaritans and Humane Borders—attempted to place gallon jugs of drinking water at four locations on trails that migrants follow when crossing the border.
No More Death developed the program where jugs are left in clusters at specific points with the date and GPS coordinate written on the side. Volunteers check those locations on a weekly basis to replace any used jugs and pick up discarded bottles and other trash.
The humanitarian groups requested a meeting with the refuge’s manager, Mike Hawkes, in June in order to work out details of providing water and other humanitarian assistance to people in need on refuge lands. Mr. Hawkes responded with a letter on July 7 stating that he preferred a “virtual meeting by email” instead.
US Fish and Wildlife officers issued the citations, with assistance from law enforcement from the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Officers confiscated the jugs at each point.
“Seeing all the migrants' water confiscated and sitting uselessly in the back of the Refuge officers' truck left me feeling sick,” said Lois Martin, a retired social worker from Boston.
Rev. John Fife, a leader of the 1980s Sanctuary Movement and co-founder of both Samaritans and No More Deaths, asked the officers to leave the water. “We urge you, we plead with you as citizens and responsible members of the United States government, please don’t take this water,” Fi fe said during the event.
Current border enforcement strategy intentionally pushes migrants into remote areas of the desert. Starting in the mid 1990s, the government built walls and placed agents in urban areas, forcing people outwards to walk across areas like Buenos Aires. While exact numbers are impossible to know, it is estimated that more than 5,000 people have died crossing the border since the policy took effect.
Humanitarians are still hoping to meeting with federal officials to work out an agreement for putting water in the desert.
“Our job is to convince these officials that we can prevent human deaths and still preserve the land,” said Maureen Marx, a retired nurse and volunteer with No More Deaths.
Two other volunteers received similar littering tickets in 2008. Both were found guilty in federal court after contesting the charges. Walt Staton, who was convicted by a 12-person jury in June, faces sentencing August 11. The maximum penalties are 1 year in prison and $100,000 fine.
Dan Millis was ticketed in February 2008, two days after finding the body of a 14-year-old girl from El Salvador. His case is currently under appeal at the 9th Circuit Court.
“Buenos Aires, like other public land along the border, has turned into a graveyard,” Staton said. "This era of border enforcement by death needs to come to an end.”
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