By dov
There has been some publicity in the main stream press about the desperate plight of migrants crossing into the US from Mexico but much of it has been drowned out by discussions of “the wall”. These migrants have been increasingly funneled into the Arizona desert as the budget for ICE and the Border Patrol has ballooned and the safer routes north have become militarized. Many people crossing the vast Arizona desert become separated from the groups they’re traveling with, scattered by the border patrol or abandoned by their coyote guides. Without food and water and a clear idea of where they’re heading many of these people are condemned to die of exposure. The exact number of deaths is unknown but somewhere between 6000 and 10,000 people have died crossing the US/Mexico border in the last 25 years with the annual rate rising sharply under the harsher enforcement policies of Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump.
Several community organizations have tried to do something to challenge government policy, most notably No More Deaths. Based in Tucson, No More Deaths supplies food, water and medical attention to migrants lost in the desert and seeks to draw public attention to the plight of migrants and the abuses of the US border patrol.
On 1/17/19, 4 activists with No More Deaths were found guilty in federal court on multiple charges including entering a national wildlife refuge area without a permit and littering on public lands. The litter cited are the jugs of water and cans of beans that No More Deaths leave in the desert to aid those who are lost and have become hungry, thirsty and disoriented. These 4 activists are awaiting their sentencing hearing and are facing up to a year in prison along with steep fines. More trials for NMD activists are coming this spring as the government seeks to silence any opposition to it’s homicidal policies at the border.
No More Deaths is in desperate need of financial and moral support as it fights to exposed the crimes of the US government and to awaken the conscience of the American people.
You can learn more and find out how to get involved at http://nomoredeaths.org