Thread: A second mother dies crossing the border, leaving a young so

Published: 07.20.2007

A second mother dies crossing the border, leaving a young son
By Brady McCombs
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Border Patrol agents found the body Thursday of a Guatemalan woman who died on the Tohono O'odham Reservation while trying to illegally enter the country with her 10-year-old son.
The latest discovery of a deceased illegal border crosser marked the second consecutive day that officials have found a mother dead and her young son nearby.
Thursday's discovery began when a Border Patrol agent spotted a 10-year-old Guatemalan boy walking about a half mile mile north of the border south of Tecolote Ranch, about 75 miles southwest of Tucson, said Jim Hawkins, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.
The boy told the agent that his mother had died, Hawkins said. An agent of Borstar, the agency's search, trauma and rescue unit, backtracked the boy's path, finding the body at 10:55 a.m.
She was a woman of unknown age from Guatemala, the boy told the agent. The Guatemalan Consulate in Phoenix has been contacted.
On Wednesday at 2 a.m., 70 miles west of Tucson on the Tohono O'odham Nation one mile west of Big Field near Federal Route 24, the body of Maria Resendiz Perez, 33, of the central Mexican state of Queretaro, was found with four survivors, including her 10-year-old son.
The boy is in custody of the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, which is arranging for the boy to return to Mexico this weekend to be with his grandfather, said spokesman Alejandro Ramos Cardoso. They believe the mother died of dehydration.
The searing summer heat — Thursday was the 37th straight day of 100-degree temperatures in the Tucson area — has taken its toll on illegal entrants.
The Border Patrol has recovered at least 17 bodies in the Tucson Sector in July, bringing its fiscal-year total to at least 133. From Oct. 1 through June, the agency had reported 116 border deaths in the Tucson Sector, down slightly from the 119 at the same time the year before. The sector runs from New Mexico to the Yuma County line.
The number of border deaths is higher, according to records kept by the Pima and Cochise County medical examiners. Combined, those agencies have handled 180 bodies of illegal border crossers since Oct. 1.
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/printDS/192567

Well, even I'm not so cold-hearted that I'm not moved by this story.

Yes, it IS sad. But it's not the United States' problem to deal with. This woman should NEVER have attempted such a foolhardy thing, and she risked her son's life in the process. He's lucky to be alive.

Stories like this tend to tug at people's heart strings and lead to pro-illegal immigration sentiments. But this is the wrong reaction. Instead, it should just strengthen our resolve to STOP the invasion.

This story and every other one like it needs to be broadcast to the countries where people are coming from. There are always consequences to people's actions. Too bad our government has forgotten that!

it is sad, but i just keep thinking about the 25+ Americans that die each day at the hands of these invaders. the really sad part is our government does nothing. we need to close down the border for our sake and theirs.

If nothing else it should be the Mexican government stressing how dangerous it is not to attempt to cross the border. Instead they encourage it. Why isn't Boosh stressing that to Mexico? Ok stop laughing I just realize what I've typed!

Yes this is sad. If you've never seen a body laying in the brush I can tell you it's not a very pleasant feeling.
Everybody is going to want to place blame here, it's Americas fault for making it harder for them to cross, even though there are signal beacons and water out there for them, Mexicos fault for encouraging them to cross, even though she's from Guatemala, but I place the blame on her, it was here choice to cross not only our border but Mexicos as well and to bring her ten year old son with her placing his life at risk as well.
Maybe she didn't understand the risks of crossing through a desert but the desert is a very unforgiving place and it is no place for those ignorant of its ways.
I'm sure there are warning signs out there telling of the danger and what the beacons are for but it is also possible she was not able to read spanish.
It was a fool hearty effort on her part and even if she had made it I think CPS should have been notified.
Well they say ignorance is bliss but it has also caused many a death.

Our government shares the blame, all the people who employ them share the blame, all the people who support this travesty share the blame, and ultimately she is to blame. She knew what she was doing was wrong and unfortunately she paid the price - and her son is now without a mother.

For all those touchy-feely people and all the self-serving politicians who have that 'welcome' sign on the border - good going.

This is information that should be broadcast in all countries - but especially in the countries to our south.

Since this woman was from Guatemala, she may have been clueless as to the places she could cross - or was brought there by human smugglers.
I still think most people, not all, that cross the desert rather than more accessible places, are hiding for some reason other than just fear of being caught by the BP. Being caught by the BP is not life threatening and it doesn't mean you will not be able to cross again in a week or two.