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By:
Ursulina Vargas and Chris Simcox
No More Deaths,
a volunteer coalition composed of advocacy groups whose work is
to support illegal immigrants with water and medical aid,
recently held a meeting in Bisbee to train volunteers in
dealing with both law enforcement and illegal border crossers
they refer to as “guests”.
The primary speaker for the workshop was
Margo Cowan, who has defended undocumented people for 35 years.
Cowan was indicted in 1972 by the Nixon Administration on 52
counts of aiding and abetting illegal aliens; the charges were
dropped by former President Jimmy Carter. Cowan currently
serves as legal counsel to Rep. Raul Grijalva.
Lupe Castillo and Kat Rodriguez of
Derechos Humanos were also in attendance to educate the 30
volunteers, many of whom traveled from out of state to attend
the training meeting. Derechos Humanos openly states that their
goal is to open the borders and abolish the Border Patrol.
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“No More Deaths” an illegal
immigrant assistance group has set up an aid camp only a few
hundred feet within the boundary of the United States border
with Mexico. The group operates on a “don’t ask,
don’t tell” philosophy to provide water and
transportation for illegals to a Tucson safe house known as the
South Side Presbyterian Church (home of Humane Borders).
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The stated purpose of No More Deaths (No
Mas Muertes) is to provide humanitarian aid for undocumented
migrants; to prevent their deaths in the desert, and to do so
in a non-violent way, while not cooperating with Border Patrol.
As one participant said, “It’s not my job to
call Border Patrol—why should I interfere with their
destiny?”
No More Deaths members,
in cooperation with church groups, provide food and water for
immigrants being detained by Border Patrol, and also in the
“field” working out of mobile RV aid stations set
up in Arivaca and Douglas, Arizona.
Cowan stated that for every immigrant
death reported by authorities, there are 10 more that go
unreported. There are no statistical facts from U.S. local,
state or federal data or Mexican consulates to verify whether
the statement is true. Cowan and others at the meeting
routinely referred to illegal aliens as “our
children.” Cowan said it is important to set up aid
stations in Cochise County because the Tucson Border Patrol
sector is now focusing attention on the most active crossing
points. Because Border Patrol estimates 5 (illegal aliens) come
through for every one caught, Cowan is concerned for the safety
of the 5 million “friends,” as she refers to
illegal immigrants, who have illegally entered the United
States.
She said the rate of recidivism (those
who’ve crossed, been caught, and re-crossed) is so
low as to be described as “statistically
insignificant” by the Border Patrol. And, although
the Border Patrol claims that they have caught more felons,
Cowan stated that is just a label that can be applied to
undocumented aliens depending upon how many times they’ve
been apprehended while crossing the border. Since October 1,
2003, the start of their fiscal year, Border Patrol reports
that as of July 15, agents have apprehended 8,283 convicted
felons attempting to cross back into the United States after
being deported. If Border Patrol is catching only one in five,
that means that up to 20,000 convicted criminals could
have entered the country in that same period.
Cowan boasted that with 2 to 3 million
“guests” coming through every year, the U.S.
Attorney can’t prosecute every one, so they decide to go
after the coyotes. As a result of rapes, robberies and
other abuses at the hands of smugglers, groups of undocumented
migrants are less likely to rely on coyotes to guide them
across the border. Often a group of “guests” will
appoint a person (who has crossed and been caught) to be their
leader, and each person will give him $50 or so for taking the
responsibility as the guide if the group is caught.
Cowan told the group of new volunteers
that they cannot aid or abet aliens in furtherance of their
illegal status in the U.S. How they get away with bending but
not breaking the law, is under much scrutiny by Border Patrol
and other federal law enforcement agencies who are beginning to
keep an eye on the groups who provide aid to illegal aliens.
Cowan says ignorance is the key. “All you have to
do, the most important thing is, to not ask if they are illegal
or where they are from!” Cowan says if they are in
the United States, then if volunteers don’t ask, they can
assume they are helping citizens. Many of their aid stations
are only a few hundred feet from the border fence. The same is
true of water stations set up on BLM land by the Tucson based
Humane Borders group.
No More Deaths volunteers,
can, and will transport possible illegal aliens to receive
medical help. Cowan’s strategy, “You can ask
them questions to see how they are feeling, and observe their
condition. There is a list of approved doctors and nurses
that a volunteer can call to get an OK to take the migrant, for
a medical evaluation.” Cowan said as long as you have
permission from one of the doctors or registered nurses in the
“friends network” then you can legally transport
them. The group claims to have a list of such doctors that
volunteers can call to get permission to transport the
“guests”.
A volunteer suggested putting magnetized
Samaritan signs with a red cross on the cars when approaching
undocumented migrants or when transporting them, so that
everyone will know their mission is a medically necessary or
humanitarian effort. Another volunteer said that doctors
he had worked with in the organization had said that if a
person is crossing the desert in the summer, regardless
of whether or not they look sick, they all need medical
help. If anyone in the “friends network” were
stopped by Border Patrol, while transporting aliens in their
cars, volunteers were instructed to identify themselves as
being with No More Deaths, since there is “an umbrella of political
protection” associated with the group. And they
should also say that they were taking the aliens for a medical
evaluation in Tucson at St. Mary’s Hospital or for
respite at South Side Presbyterian Church (home of Humane
Borders).
According to Cowan, “we are
transparent,” so there is no attempt to conceal
undocumented migrants by making them lie down in the back seat
or hide in the trunk.
Someone asked, “Is it legal to take
them home with you, like if you need to pick up the list of
doctors and nurses you need to take them to?” Cowan
said, “Yes, but you must take them there,” (to
medical help).
“If you meet a group and some are in
distress, and others are not, you cannot transport those who
are OK,” Cowan answered. “We encourage people
who want to (transport those who are OK) to do that, on their own,”
but we don’t want to get in trouble, so we don’t do
that as a group, under the name No
More Deaths,” Cowan warned
the volunteers.
Another question that arose was if a
“friend” doctor recommended a 48-hour respite,
could the volunteer take the aliens home, let them take a
shower, and then let them use the phone at the end of that
period of time? Cowan said that although a church
designated as a respite center was preferable, it was all right
to do this, but if the alien calls out on your home phone, you
want to make sure your ID is blocked, as you do not want
coyotes knowing your number.
Kat Rodriguez asked, “How do they
get from your home to the bus, or other transportation (if you
are not allowed to transport them)?” Others also
wanted to know if it was legal to give them some money for
their trip.
Cowan responded: “Almost
everyone coming over has family here who will come and pick
them up. Public transportation is just too
dangerous.” Other volunteers were still puzzled and
asked further about how to aid aliens in resuming their journey
after a medically recommended respite. Then Cowan added,
“This is just what No More
Deaths recommends legally; other friends do other pieces.” No More Deaths official policy is
“We can’t do this piece—other people do
this piece, just in case there are some government spies here.
It’s important for us to do everything to keep the
criminal enterprise part away from our humanitarian
efforts,” Cowan explained. The volunteers smiled and
laughed.
Later Cowan added that most volunteers in
the group might know someone who would “do the other
piece” but there is no organized group to perform
transportation functions for the “guests”.
Cowan warned the volunteers that if they are detained for
any reason by law enforcement while transporting an alien, the
case must be turned over to the state’s attorney, whose
decision it will be either to dismiss it or to prosecute.
The group debated if it was legal to give
“guests” a map, so that they knew where they were
and how to get to where they were going.
Cowan said that it was a legal gray area;
and “we are concerned that people may misinterpret them
(the maps) and they won’t be helpful.”
Others in the group shared stories about
Border Patrol agents who did not want them to give water or
food to alien detainees in the field, and they were assured
that it is perfectly legal to give them the “Know Your
Rights” card, and to share food and water with them.
Cowan said those agents who are resistant to No More
Deaths volunteers’ help are: “young agents,
scared to death, based on lack of knowledge, substantively and
culturally, of whom they are dealing with.”
Kat Rodriguez said, “God forbid you
feed a felon.”
The group discussed the necessity of
getting a written commitment from local law enforcement
(cities, county sheriffs) to not enforce immigration law, since
only the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to
inquire into a person’s legal status in this country.
As far as the Border Patrol is concerned,
they have no authority over you while you are on private
property, and that includes churches that may be used for
respites.
One of the speakers claimed that there
were no kitchens in the detention facilities, and sometimes
people there said they had not been fed for 48 hours. She
wanted to know if the group cared to organize an effort to
bring a mobile kitchen to the incarceration facility to feed
the “guests”. Toward the end of the meeting, Lupe
Castillo, a volunteer coordinator added,
“Let’s not get so wrapped up in humanitarian
aid that we forget our principle effort is in changing border
and immigration policy.”
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One of four new helicopters on the job in
southern Arizona is improving border security and saving lives.
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All of the illegal alien groups CHD
encountered during the past week had plenty of water. In fact,
they had plenty of water and food provided by Food City and
Church’s Chicken out of Sierra Vista. Someone in the area
is making food and water drops at the lay-up areas. Of course
all of the trash is left behind for landowners to pick
up.
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The biggest land grabbers in the United
States made good on their edict to keep citizens out of
the southern portion of the San Pedro Riparian
Conservation area south of highway 92 in Palominas. The area
once cherished by birdwatchers from around the world is now
virtually useless, unless you are a drug smuggler or smuggler
of human cargo. Even though CHD and ABP have been instrumental
in assisting Border Patrol and The Department of Homeland
Security with stopping illegal traffic through the
protected area, (CHD has assisted with approximately 1,500 in
this exact spot) the Bureau of Land Management has erected
signs notifying citizens of the United States that they are not
wanted there. The move was obvious: to keep Civil
Homeland defense and American Border Patrol volunteers out of
the area.
Another week in Cochise County and
President George Bush, and Governor Janet Napolitano are still
AWOL –shirking their duty to protect American citizens
from invasion of a foreign enemy, while pandering for special
interest votes. They both should be removed from office.
Three illegal immigrant sex offenders from Mexico were
caught by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Douglas and Naco over
the past weekend. They were
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Why doesn’t BLM want citizen
border watch groups near the border? Could it be they are
concerned for our safety? Or, could it be because BLM agents
are on the take from smugglers?
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attempting to reenter the United States
after being previously convicted and deported. We can only
imagine how many times they have traveled back and forth
preying on American citizens. Since Oct. 1, 2003, through
Sunday, 9,051 illegal immigrants with criminal records have
been caught reentering the United States through Arizona. Of
those, 137 had records of sexual offense –poor migrant
workers? President Bush, where are you?
Jorge Gonzalez-Lopez was taken into
custody about six miles east of Douglas Thanks to cross agency
criminal data bases, during processing, his fingerprints came
back as a person who was convicted of child molestation in 2003
in Washington state.
Next up was 37-year-old Mario
Sanchez-Gonzalez who was apprehended seven miles east of Naco,
Arizona. His fingerprints came back showing he had been
convicted of sexual assault in 1995.
Salvador Cayatano-Catalon, 31, was
apprehended and taken into custody about 12 miles west of Naco,
along an under protected area of the San Pedro River just
closed to civilian border watch groups. He was convicted of
sexual assault of child in 1995 in Nebraska. All three should
be executed or at the very least get life in prison.
Monday night, a group of
“mules” - human drug smugglers - were seen crossing
into the United States about 400 yards west of the Naco Port of
Entry, around 10:15 p.m.
Agents responded to the area, the mules
ran back into Mexico, dropping bundles of marijuana. Agents got
the dope, but not the smugglers who, while agents were moving
the bundles, began throwing rocks from the Mexican side of the
line, causing damage to two windshields, no agents were
injured.
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