Thread: Death in the desert, Blame the smugglers S.D.U.T.

San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial

Death in the desert

Blame the smugglers, not the government

October 2, 2009

Thousands of migrants cross the border illegally between here and Texas every year, the overwhelming majority of them simply in search of a job and a slice of the American dream. That hundreds of them instead find death in the American desert is a humanitarian crisis, and it is unacceptable.

But to blame those deaths on the border-enforcement policies of the American or Mexican governments and on agencies such as the U.S. Border Patrol and its operations is nothing short of preposterous. This is a tragedy with villains, to be sure, but they are not the agents who risk their own lives along the border every day, nor the government policies they are enforcing.

A Union-Tribune report on Wednesday, citing Border Patrol figures, said there were 378 migrant deaths along the Southwest border in the 11 months ended Aug. 31 — a pace slightly greater than the previous two years, but lower than the record-death year of 492 in 2005.

A report formally released that same day by the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties and Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights said those deaths are the “inhumane outcomeâ€

I was agreeing with the article until the last sentence:

Finally, as always, the ultimate answer lies in American enactment of real immigration reform. End the jobs magnet that draws impoverished people here in the first place and you will end the death in desert.

Real immigration reform is enforcing the laws on the books. And for the job magnet, anyone who employs anyone must use E-Verify.

Report shows as many as 5,600 illegal immigrants have died along border

Civil rights groups blame border enforcement strategies for deaths

EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com
October 4, 2009 7:15 pm

..Thousands of illegal immigrants have died in the last 15 years trying to cross the inhospitable terrain along the U.S.-Mexico border, but an exact number is hard to come by, according to a study released last week by civil rights groups.

Estimates ranged from 3,861 deaths to 5,607 deaths, according to the report produced by the American Civil Liberties Union and Mexico's National Commission on Human Rights.

The report recommended better tracking of the number of deaths and more resources for search and rescue missions.

The groups blamed the deaths on border enforcement strategies enacted by U.S. authorities, such as Operation Gatekeeper, to reduce the number of illegal immigrants coming into the country.

They also blamed Mexico for not having more effective search and rescue resources south of the border.

"The current policies in place on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border have created a humanitarian crisis," said Kevin Keenan, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties.

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security say its search and rescue teams have saved numerous lives at the border.

Authorities blame the deaths on unscrupulous smugglers who abandon people in dangerous terrain.

In 1998, the federal government formed the Border Patrol's Search, Trauma and Rescue team, known as Borstar, to help people stranded deep in the brush or desert.

"Customs and Border Protection remains committed to ensuring a safe and secure border," said Lloyd Easterling, a spokesman for the agency, in a written statement.

"By working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement and humanitarian groups on both sides of the border, CBP focuses its efforts on preventing illegal border crossings and targeting human smugglers," Easterling said.

In the report, the civil rights groups recommend the creation of a binational information center to gather data on the deaths.

That system also would help families find information about lost loved ones, immigrant rights activists say.

Other recommendations include:

-- Increasing resources for search and rescue efforts;

-- Increasing cooperation with nongovernment, humanitarian groups at the border; and

-- Reviewing and reconsidering border enforcement policies.

Since Operation Gatekeeper was introduced in October 1994, keeping an accurate number of the deaths along the border has been a problem, immigrant rights advocates have said.

The Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Border Patrol and other immigration enforcement agencies, puts the number of deaths at 3,861.

However, that number does not include bodies found on the Mexican side of the border or bodies recovered by local law enforcement agencies, such as local sheriff's departments, according to the report.

The report adds numbers kept by Mexico's foreign ministry and media sources to come up with a total of 5,607 deaths that have occurred between 1994 and 2008.

Others go undiscovered, according to the report.

Immigrant rights groups say Operation Gatekeeper and similar enforcement efforts along the U.S.-Mexico border are responsible for the deaths because they were designed to push illegal immigrant traffic into the mountains and deserts.

The strategy was to use the dangerous terrain as a deterrent.

It did not work, according to Wayne Cornelius, former director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UC San Diego.

Illegal immigrant traffic simply shifted to states such as Arizona and Texas.

As evidence, the civil rights groups pointed to the number of deaths that have occurred in those areas.

Of the 390 deaths reported by the Border Patrol in fiscal year 2007-08, 171 occurred in the Tucson, Ariz., area. The second largest number of deaths, 97, occurred in the McAllen, Texas, area, according to the report.

Immigrant rights activist Enrique Morones said that undocumented people are willing to risk their lives because they want to be able to provide a better life for their families.

"These are human beings who have no legal way to get into this country," Morones said. "There is no Statue of Liberty for them, no Ellis Island, no line for them to get into. So they are killed by Operation Gatekeeper."

Anti-illegal immigration groups say people crossing the border illegally should take responsibility for their own actions.

"People have a personal responsibility not to act recklessly and put their lives in danger," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which urges stricter immigration policies.

U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, said through a spokesman that it is not Operation Gatekeeper that is to blame for the deaths at the border, but the unscrupulous employers willing to give them jobs that are leading them to put their lives in danger.

The report is available at www.aclusandiego.org.

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

http://nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/ ... 4870e.html

Where are the reports on how many American citizens have been killed by these poor hard working people????????

Originally Posted by MountainDog

Where are the reports on how many American citizens have been killed by these poor hard working people???????? :evil:

I saw your comment and sent an email to the author of this article.

"Since you have done an article about how many illegal aliens have died trying to illegal enter our country you now need to do a story about how many Americans have been killed by illegal aliens right here in our own country. DWI deaths, murder, rape, kidnappings, etc."

Everyone can send him an email @
EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by MountainDog

Where are the reports on how many American citizens have been killed by these poor hard working people????????

I saw your comment and sent an email to the author of this article.

"Since you have done an article about how many illegal aliens have died trying to illegal enter our country you now need to do a story about how many Americans have been killed by illegal aliens right here in our own country. DWI deaths, murder, rape, kidnappings, etc."

Everyone can send him an email @
EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com

Good job! Thank you.
If you get a reply please post it.

Originally Posted by MountainDog

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by MountainDog

Where are the reports on how many American citizens have been killed by these poor hard working people???????? :evil:

I saw your comment and sent an email to the author of this article.

"Since you have done an article about how many illegal aliens have died trying to illegal enter our country you now need to do a story about how many Americans have been killed by illegal aliens right here in our own country. DWI deaths, murder, rape, kidnappings, etc."

Everyone can send him an email @
EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com

Good job! Thank you.
If you get a reply please post it.

Here is his reply.

Monday, October 5, 2009 7:46 PM
From: "Edward Sifuentes" <ESifuentes@nctimes.com>

We don't ignore crimes that happen in our community, no matter who commits them. If there is a murder or a rape or a kidnapping in North County and we know about it, we report it. If that crime is committed by an illegal immigrant, we report that too.
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I will add that North County Times does mention when the arrested person is an illegal alien.

JD2