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Press releases, Updates

Military style raid: border patrol detains 30+ people receiving care at humanitarian aid station

Arivaca, AZ: Around sunset on July 31st, US Border Patrol raided No More Deaths’ humanitarian aid station, Byrd Camp, detaining over thirty people who were receiving medical care, food, water, and shelter from the 100+ degree heat. In a massive show of force, Border Patrol, along with BORTAC, descended on the camp with an armored vehicle, three ATVS, two helicopters, and an estimated 24 marked and unmarked vehicles.

Agents refused to show a warrant upon entry, and were not wearing masks. For two hours, in darkness, they detained and chased people receiving care while a Border Patrol cameraman filmed the scene. The day before, agents had entered the property without a warrant and detained one person receiving care. Border Patrol then set up 24-hour surveillance around the perimeter, deterring anyone else from entering the camp to seek help.

Last night’s military style raid on the aid station is a clear example of Border Patrol’s deadly pattern of interfering with humanitarian aid. Many No More Deaths volunteers work as EMTs, paramedics, nurses, and doctors. Volunteers are trained to respect the autonomy of individuals receiving care — as is standard practice in the medical field, they only call 911 and Border Patrol with patient consent. All persons at camp had been medically evaluated, were stable, and were receiving continuous care.

The initial detention and surveillance of Byrd Camp was set up just 24 hours after No More Deaths released emails from a FOIA request revealing the role of BORTAC — the tactical unit recently mobilized against protestors throughout the United States — and the Border Patrol Union’s role in a 2017 raid of the same aid station.

Border Patrol previously raided Byrd camp in 2017, which predates Dr. Scott Warren’s arrest for providing humanitarian aid to two individuals. Warren was arrested just hours after No More Deaths released a report detailing Border Patrol’s interference with humanitarian aid, along with a video that went viral showing agents destroying water gallons. The message is clear: expose Border Patrol abuses, face retaliation

“Yesterday, Border Patrol harmed thirty people in irreparable ways. On a daily basis those who migrate through the Arizona desert are targeted, terrorized, detained, and deported.” Said Dr. Scott Warren, “Last night we witnessed these tactics deployed against people who sought medical care and relief at our Byrd Camp aid station. As always when humanitarian aid in the borderlands is targeted, those who seek care are the ones that face the brunt of these violent escalations.”now

Updates

An Evening with Luis Alberto Urrea – Sold Out

Tickets are sold out for our 2/13 Luis Urrea event!

Thank you for your support.

This event is made possible by our generous sponsors:

Community Partners:

Desert Diamond Casino & Entertainment – An Enterprise of the Tohono O’odham Nation

Rancho Gordo – Specialty heirloom bean supplier based in Northern California 

Tumerico – Vegetarian, scratch kitchen based in Tucson providing food for the event reception

Friends:

Antigone Books – Voted Tucson’s best independent book store by readers of Tucson Weekly

Earlham College Border Studies Program – Program focusing on migration, identity, and social justice

EXO Roast Co. – Small batch, specialty coffee roaster in Tucson

People’s Defense Initiative – Grassroots community organizing fighting for human rights in Tucson

Rincon Market – Local family-owned deli, grocery, and restaurant in the Sam Hughes neighborhood

Rubin & Bernstein PLLC – Law firm based in Tucson, Arizona

Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson – The fiscal sponsor of No More Deaths / No Mas Muertes Mr. Urrea is the author of The Devil’s Highway and 16 other books, which reflect his cross-cultural experiences as a Mexican-American. Born in Tijuana, Mexico to an American mother and a Mexican father, Urrea is best known as a “border writer”. He has won many awards for his writing and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2005 for The Devil’s Highway, which tells the story of a group of men who in 2001 attempted to cross the border into southern Arizona’s deadliest corridor – the very area where our volunteers leave lifesaving food and water. He was recently named a Guggenheim

Updates

An Evening with Luis Alberto Urrea

A fundraiser for No More Deaths/ No Más Muertes

Join us for an evening with renowned author Luis Alberto Urrea, author of The Devil’s Highway, Guggenheim Fellow, and Tucson Book Festival favorite.

A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and member of the Latino Literature Hall of Fame, Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 17 books, winning numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays. Born in Tijuana to a Mexican father and American mother, Urrea is most recognized as a border writer, though he says, “I am more interested in bridges, not borders.”    

For more info and to learn about sponsorship opportunities, email fundraising@nomoredeaths.org.

To purchase tickets, go to nomoredeaths.brownpapertickets.com. Tickets are limited.