As Temperatures Soar in Southwest, Border Patrol Puts Migrants in Greater Danger

Border Patrol Raids Humanitarian Aid Group Camp in Arizona

By Fernanda Santos, New York Times

June 16, 2017

  Photo: No More Deaths/Carrot Quinn

PHOENIX — The Border Patrol raided a humanitarian aid group’s base camp in the Southern Arizona desert on Thursday and arrested four men who had crossed into the United States illegally, officials with Customs and Border Protection said.

Volunteers with the group, No More Deaths, which gives water and first-aid care to migrants, said the men were from Mexico and were receiving emergency medical care at the camp, which had been raided by agents in the past. But this was the first time border agents had used a search warrant to gain entry, the group said in a statement, suggesting a change in strategy by the Border Patrol leadership in the region at a time when temperatures are soaring. Despite a history of tense relations with No More Deaths, the agency had previously abided by an informal, Obama-era agreement allowing migrants to seek medical help at the camp without fear of arrest.[...]

Read the full article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/16/us/border-patrol-immigration-no-more-deaths.html

Appeal From No More Deaths/No Más Muertes

June 20, 2017

The high-temperature forecast for Arivaca, Arizona on June 21 is 108 degrees Fahrenheit. It will be even hotter, 116 degrees, in the Devil’s Highway region of Ajo, Arizona.

In this heat, a 150-pound person needs three to four gallons of water to remain hydrated if walking all day. Migrants and refugees heading north often trek for many days or weeks and are unable to carry the water that is minimal for survival.

In Arizona alone, over three thousand people have died a migration-related death since 1999. We do not stand idly by. No More Deaths volunteers are in the desert today and every day providing food, water, and medical aid to border crossers in distress.

Today, in the wake of an unprecedented raid on our camp by the US Border Patrol (see coverage in the New York Times, the Associated Press, the Intercept, the Guardian, and the Arizona Republic), we need your support more than ever.

On June 21, when the sun is highest in the sky and daylight at its longest, we want to raise $10,000 to support our work. We’re calling this solstice effort our Longest Day Campaign.

Whether you donate today or on the longest day of the year, your contribution enables us to work towards ending death and suffering in the US–Mexico borderlands.

You can donate online or write a check to “UUCT/No More Deaths” and mail it to:

No More Deaths DonateNow

PO Box 40782

Tucson, AZ 85717

We are ever-grateful for your support in the face of the ongoing crises of death and disappearance at the border.

In solidarity, 

The No More Deaths community

Watch "Desert of Death" for more information on No More Deaths and the group's humanitarian work:
https://vimeo.com/220663284