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Abuse documentation, News coverage
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NO MORE DEATHS REPORT: “SEPARATE AND DEADLY” REVEALS DISCRIMINATORY 911 CALL SYSTEM IN US/MEXICO BORDERLANDS

ImmigrationProf Blog, 15 November 2023

Yesterday, No More Deaths released Separate and Deadly: Segregation of 911 Emergency Services in the Arizona Borderlands. The report is the latest installment of Disappeared, a four-part series that examines the Border Patrol’s role in the deaths and disappearances in the U.S./Mexico border region. Separate and Deadly analyzes the Pima County (Arizona) Sheriff’s Department’s emergency response system. The report finds vastly different responses to the distress calls on 911 of migrants based on their citizenship status. Migrant distress calls are routinely transferred to the Border Patrol, which No More Deaths says has “demonstrated a deadly negligence when it comes to emergency response and rescue.”  In 2023, the remains of 175 people have been found in Arizona. Countless more remain disappeared.

Abuse documentation, News coverage, Updates
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REPORT FINDS ARIZONA 911 DISPATCHERS FAIL TO HELP LOST MIGRANTS

Tanvi Misra, High Country News, 14 November 2023

On June 27, 2022, around 1:44 a.m., a man lost in the desert outside Tucson, Arizona called 911. An emergency services dispatcher for Pima County answered. The man, clearly distressed, tried to describe his surroundings and explain that he was lost, wet and freezing. But before he could finish, the dispatcher interrupted him, saying, “I don’t understand, un momento,” and abruptly transferred the call to the U.S. Border Patrol. The agent who picked up shushed the caller as he started to speak —“Cállate!” (“Be quiet!”) — and spoke to the dispatcher instead, in English. Then they hung up, leaving the man to the agent. An incident report suggests that no actions were taken to follow up or locate the lost caller: “No additional calls have come from the subject. … At this time the caller has not been identified and not located.” 

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News coverage

Eight activists helping migrants cross brutal desert charged by US government

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Eight activists helping migrants cross brutal desert charged by US government

Rory Carroll, The Guardian, January 24, 2018 Eight humanitarian volunteers who help migrants survive desert treks have been charged with federal crimes, prompting fears of an escalating crackdown by the Trump administration. The volunteers, all members of the Arizona-based group No More Deaths, appeared in court on Tuesday charged with a variety of offences including driving in a wilderness area, entering a wildlife refuge without a permit and abandoning property—the latter an apparent reference to leaving water, food and blankets on migrant trails. Continue reading Eight activists helping migrants cross brutal desert charged by US government →
News coverage

Border Patrol agents were filmed dumping water left for migrants. Then came a “suspicious” arrest.

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Border Patrol agents were filmed dumping water left for migrants. Then came a “suspicious” arrest.

Amy B. Wang, Washington Post, January 24, 2018

Last Wednesday, a nonprofit group that provides humanitarian aid to migrants in the Arizona desert released a lengthy report alleging Border Patrol agents were intentionally destroying supplies left for migrants in the desert, the group said, to “condemn border crossers to suffering, death and disappearance.” Continue reading Border Patrol agents were filmed dumping water left for migrants. Then came a “suspicious” arrest. →

News coverage

Group accusing US border patrol of water sabotage sees member arrested

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Group accusing US border patrol of water sabotage sees member arrested

Associated Press via The Guardian, January 22, 2018

Hours after a humanitarian group released videos showing border patrol agents kicking over water bottles left for migrants in the Arizona desert, a volunteer for the organization was arrested and charged with harboring undocumented immigrants. Continue reading Group accusing US border patrol of water sabotage sees member arrested →

Abuse documentation, News coverage

US Border Patrol systematically destroyed water supplies left for migrants in desert, report says

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US Border Patrol systematically destroyed water supplies left for migrants in desert, report says

Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept, January 17, 2018

A new report says that humanitarian groups working along the U.S. border with Mexico have documented the systematic destruction of thousands of jugs of water left for migrants trekking north through the desert—and that U.S. Border Patrol agents are to blame. Continue reading US Border Patrol systematically destroyed water supplies left for migrants in desert, report says →

Abuse documentation, News coverage

US border patrol routinely sabotages water left for migrants, report says

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US border patrol routinely sabotages water left for migrants, report says

Rory Carroll, The Guardian, January 17, 2018

United States border patrol agents routinely vandalise containers of water and other supplies left in the Arizona desert for migrants, condemning people to die of thirst in baking temperatures, according to two humanitarian groups. Continue reading US border patrol routinely sabotages water left for migrants, report says →

News coverage

After Trump’s immigration crackdown, a desert clinic tries to save lives without breaking the law

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After Trump’s immigration crackdown, a desert clinic tries to save lives without breaking the law

Eric Boodman, Stat, July 6, 2017

When the man walked in with fang marks on his leg, the volunteers knew the protocol: In the case of a rattlesnake bite, you call 911. But like all of the patients who end up here, his very presence in this desert clinic meant he had broken American law. Continue reading After Trump’s immigration crackdown, a desert clinic tries to save lives without breaking the law →

News coverage

Arizona aid group questions Border Patrol surveillance following a raid on its camp

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Arizona aid group questions Border Patrol surveillance following a raid on its camp

Ryan Devereux, The Intercept, June 17, 2017

A three-day showdown in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert between Border Patrol agents and a humanitarian group, which culminated in a raid and the arrests of four undocumented immigrants, has aid workers raising questions about government surveillance and operational practices. The arrests took place Thursday evening at a camp run by the group No More Deaths, also known as No Más Muertes, which is located on private property near the unincorporated community of Arivaca, roughly 11 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The humanitarian group said approximately 30 well-armed Border Patrol agents descended upon the location looking for “bodies” in a coordinated and alarmingly militarized operation, leaving with the four men in tow. Continue reading Arizona aid group questions Border Patrol surveillance following a raid on its camp →