Our originally itinerary included a 7 mile desert walk on Tuesday. Plans changed due to the trial of Scott Warren, a No More Deaths volunteer which began in court last Wednesday. Scott Warren was arrested 2 years ago by Border Patrol after he provided water and shelter to 2 unauthorized individuals in the Border Lands (The 100 mile stretch that Border Patrol has jurisdiction.) The felony charges consist of harboring these individuals and conspiracy. There was a local rally taking place for Scott outside the Federal Court House and our group attended with BorderLinks to show solidarity. This case is criminalizing humanitarian aid and it’s decision could have rippling affects for the legality of offering humanitarian aid moving forward. I was able to record most of the rally which consisted of clergy from different denominations and human rights leaders from around the US. https://www.facebook.com/blankleya/videos/599168986728/
We did travel away from BorderLinks to Arivaca, AZ, a border town of 600 people. These border towns have become magnets for militarization. Locals talk of militias of individuals coming into their communities to “Defend the Border”. I asked a local organizer about the divisiveness in her community. Overwhelmingly, the local people support aid to migrants often leaving out water and food and sometimes providing shelter. “What would you have me do? Let them die? I have to answer to my creator.” said one volunteer. Outside of Arivaca, we passed a Border Patrol Checkpoint. Created 10 years ago as a temporary measure, it still stands today. 11 miles from the Mexico border, we stopped at a surveillance tower and experienced the desert landscape. We walked for less than a mile in the desert heat. It was a relatively cool day at 92 degrees with a breeze. We were told that in order to survive the desert conditions, a migrant must consume 1-3 gallons of water per day. Most can only carry 2 gallons with them when they start their journey.
“There is beauty and pain in this place.” said one of the volunteers.
A migrant abuse documentor from No More Deaths spoke to our group and shared their 2 of their three part series exposing the conditions of migrants crossing the border. Since 1997 (beginning of documentation) the remains of over 8,000 migrants have been found in the border lands. It could easily by their estimation be 5x as many unrecorded deaths. The cause? PREVENTION THROUGH DETERRENCE. Increased Border security at Ports of Entry have funneled migrants to harsher conditions to cross. By all accounts, this policy of the US has not decreased the number of migrants. Numerous other factors, primarily economic have influenced the number of individuals crossing the boarder. You can witness their report here: http://www.thedisappearedreport.org/ No More Deaths believes that the increased Boarder Patrol presence at their aid stops and arrests is retaliatory action based on the widespread exposure of their report.
No More Deaths is calling for the disolving of Border Patrol, ICE, and Open Borders. The organizer agreed that these goals are lofty. In the short-term, they want access to restricted Federal land to recover bodies, disciplinary action for Border Patrol agents who cause harm to water stops, and partner with search and rescue operations.
The day ended with a path way to citizenship exercise. We followed 13 scenarios of unauthorized individuals from across the world and their journey to citizenship. Despite what our group felt was a valid case for citizenship (employment offers, clean record, student, family in the US) many were denied for: thresholds, and classification. Out of our 13 individuals 5 were granted VISAS with 2 wealthy individuals receiving expedited processing. Most paths to citizenship, if awarded a VISA were 6-8 years, pending successful Naturalization which requires a Citizenship Test, Language Test, and Fees. There were various examples of preferential treatment of the law. Canadian applications for example are processed as received, where as Family Visas from Mexico are 20+ years behind. Mexicans who applied in 1997 are just having their application reviewed. The US Government processes Visa applications at a rate of 2 months per 12 months year. You can learn more about the wait times from a monthly report issued by the State Dept. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-for-may-2019.html
STAND IN LINE IS NOT A VALID OPTION FOR SOMEONE SEEKING ASYLUM.
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