http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/ne ... e-news.asp

August 30, 2005

Maria Leon

Scores of volunteers from an organization advocating greater respect for the rights of immigrants whether they have a visa or not fanned out Monday with water and food across the Arizona desert that has become a death trap for hundreds of border-crossers.

Around 6:30 a.m., a caravan of automobiles and pickup trucks headed out from the parking lot of a Presbyterian church in South Tucson en route for the Arivaca region, one of the most isolated areas in the desert.

"Given the increase in the number of undocumented immigrants' deaths, we want to redouble our efforts," said Beth Sanders, the spokesperson for the humanitarian group No More Deaths.

The volunteers will take turns scouring the desert in an operation lasting about 10 hours.

No More Deaths is a non-profit organization that during the summer months sets up a camp in the middle of the desert to aid undocumented migrants who become lost or are in danger of dying from lack of water and food.

Humanitarian groups in Arizona say that during the current fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, at least 229 illegal immigrants have died in the desert, although the Border Patrol places the official number at 203.

Before participating in the rescue operation, each of the volunteers took part in a four-hour preliminary training session in which they were told about safety measures and how to recognize a medical emergency.

"If we find an immigrant who needs medical help, he will be taken by the volunteers to the camp where there are always medical personnel on hand," Sanders said.

Among the volunteers roaming across the desert on Monday were Shanti Sellz, 23, who along with Daniel Strauss, also 23, are facing federal charges for transporting three undocumented immigrants.

The pair were arrested by Border Patrol agents on July 9 apparently when they were transporting three undocumented immigrants to a Tucson hospital.

"It doesn't matter which side of the illegal immigration debate you're on, the truth is that hundreds of men, women and children are dying on our border," said Sellz.

The young woman said that the federal charges she is facing would in no way make her stop participating in a cause that she felt was humanitarian and "just."

No More Deaths calculates that this summer their group has aided about 500 immigrants, while last year they helped more than 1,700.

"The situation is critical. There are many people who are dying and nobody knows what happened to them," Sanders said.

During their forays into the desert, the volunteers shout Spanish-language phrases such as "somos amigos" (we're friends), "no somos la migra" (we're not the immigration authorities) and "traemos agua y comida" (we have water and food) to gain the trust of the migrants.

The Arizona desert has been called the most vulnerable stretch along the U.S.-Mexican border. At the end of Fiscal Year 2004, more than 600,000 illegal migrants had been arrested in Arizona, some 52 percent of the total number of arrests last year along the entire border.

"We're only performing a humanitarian mission, trying to prevent more human beings from dying," Sanders said. EFE

Among the volunteers roaming across the desert on Monday were Shanti Sellz, 23, who along with Daniel Strauss, also 23, are facing federal charges for transporting three undocumented immigrants.

The pair were arrested by Border Patrol agents on July 9 apparently when they were transporting three undocumented immigrants to a Tucson hospital.

"It doesn't matter which side of the illegal immigration debate you're on, the truth is that hundreds of men, women and children are dying on our border," said Sellz.

The young woman said that the federal charges she is facing would in no way make her stop participating in a cause that she felt was humanitarian and "just."
They won't be able to help much if they are in prison!