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Efforts Taken to Halt Migrant Deaths


by Mark Poepsel, KOLD News-13 Reporter
posted 5/23/05

With 12 desert deaths in the past few days, illegal immigrants are paying the ultimate price for the chance at a better life.

"The extreme heat was announced, and we knew we were going to be very busy," said Jose Garza, a spokesman for the Tucson Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Nine bodies were found in the Tucson Sector, all believed to be heat-related deaths.

Temperatures reached at least 105 degrees Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

As illegal immigrants are dying in the desert, it highlights the strange dual rold of the Border Patrol. First, they try to stop illegal crossers from ever entering the United States, then they try to save immigrants when they fall victim to the desert.

Almost all agents carry water on patrol, and there are 24 new members in the Sector's Search and Rescue Squad.

But, Garza says, that can't protect border crossers from dishonest immigrant smugglers or from getting lost and stranded in the desert.

Coyotes notoriously tell immigrants trips will take a day or two when, at times, they can spend two days just looking for a place to cross. That leaves another two days before a destination is reached.

"They're not going to make it with one or two gallons of water." Garza said.

As a response to concerns about deaths and immgration numbers in Arizona's rural western deserts, the Border Patrol moved 200 agents from other parts of the country. That's supposed to help prevent migrant deaths.

"We're hoping we can put them on the line and keep these people from attempting their entry," Garza said.

But, while immigrants' rights supporters say they appreciate the life-saving measures Border Patrol takes, they say sending more agents won't save lives in the end.

"More Border Patrol is just going to keep pushing people into more desperate, dangerous areas of the desert, and people don't want to be found out there," said Luke Roske, a volunteer with the group "No More Deaths."

The Border Patrol says they put the agents where the most migrants are. The agency has shored up large portions of Texas and California, leaving Arizona's Sonoran desert as a deterrant.

The Tucson Sector has seen immigrant apprehensions rise to 1.2 million per year. The death toll last year was 172. Border Patrol says only one-fourth of those were heat related, but some put the number of heat-caused deaths in the closer to 200. Others say it's impossible to determine an exact number because bodies sometimes aren't found for years.

Roske spent the weekend near Agua Prieta Mexico giving aid to would-be crossers and trying to deter them from the rest of the journey.

His group saw dozens of people exhausted and some overheated before they even went over the border.

"For three days they were looking for somewhere to cross," he said. "They hadn't even gotten out of their country and they were in pretty bad shape by then."

Roske came upon two women and a 12-year old girl who were bruised and scratched from rough terrain. They were dehydrated and shaking, he said. Roske believes the volunteer group saved their life by giving them food, water and first-aid.

It's possible the migrants continued their trip and risked their lives on the American side of the border.

Because they believe most migrants can't be deterred, Roske and other activists support broad immigration change.

Border Patrol agents suggest going after immigrant smugglers who lead migrants to their deaths.

Immigration reform is underway in the Senate, but policy changes aren't expected for months at least.