http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/metro/107094

Border activists say they knew law
By Stephanie Innes
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.15.2005

Indicted volunteer aid workers Shanti A. Sellz and Daniel M. Strauss told a federal prosecutor Wednesday that they were well-versed in immigration law prior to their July arrest for illegally transporting migrants.

But Sellz, 23, said the training she received from the faith-based No More Deaths Coalition taught her that transporting an illegal immigrant to get medical assistance is not against the law. The testimony came during a hearing on whether to dismiss federal charges against the two aid workers. The hearing was continued until Jan. 5. A trial has been scheduled for Jan. 10.

Sellz and Strauss, 24, were arrested July 9 with three illegal entrants in Sellz's car, which was marked as a "Samaritan" vehicle. Sellz and Strauss said the men were dehydrated and extremely ill after drinking contaminated water from a cattle tank, and that they were taking them to a medical clinic that had been set up at Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 W. 23rd St., in Tucson.

Federal prosecutors say the men weren't in dire need of medical aid, and that Sellz and Strauss were unlawfully aiding the men's illegal entry.
Prior to the hearing, at least 200 people packed Southside Presbyterian for a support rally.

During more than three hours of testimony Wednesday in a packed courtroom presided over by Judge Bernardo P. Velasco, Sellz and Strauss told federal prosecutor Irene Feldman they were aware of U.S. law on transporting illegal immigrants even though the law is not specifically printed in their No More Deaths training materials.

Feldman asked Sellz about the training she received before going into the desert to the No More Deaths "Ark of the Covenant" camp in Arivaca.
The Ark of the Covenant camp has operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for two consecutive summers. It's in operation during the hottest months of the year, when illegal immigrants crossing on foot from Mexico into the United States have been dying at a rate of about one a day.
When Sellz said one of the people who spoke at her training was the Rev. John Fife, the retired pastor of Southside Presbyterian, Feldman asked if she knew Fife has a federal conviction for violating immigration law.
Sellz said she was not aware of Fife's conviction when she was first trained as a No More Deaths volunteer, though she's aware of it now. Fife was in the courtroom Wednesday.

Fife and five others â€â€