Humane Borders Fights Migrant Deaths Legally

Monday, 31 August 2009 18:54

Sister Elizabeth Ohmann's most memorable moment during her time with Humane Borders was finding a teenage boy and his toddler brother as they crossed the desert with their family.

"To see those children walking through the desert really tears at your heart," she said.

Humane Borders is a Tucson-based humanitarian group that places water stations in the desert for border crossers along the U.S. and Mexico border.

Tanks of water, known as water drops, placed in the desert of southern Arizona for border crossers have become a hot button issue in recent years as the immigration debate in the U.S. has intensified. Arrests have been made on individuals leaving water in the desert on grounds of trespassing and littering, including the arrest and June 3 conviction of No More Deaths volunteer Walt Staton in Pima County.

But not all aid groups' activities result in arrests and conflicts with the law.Humane Borders has never had a legal issue since its inception in June 2000, said Robin Hoover, First Christian Church pastor and Humane Borders President Emeritus.

Humane Borders, also known as Fronteras Compasivas, is a faith-based group whose mission statement is to ensure a "just and humane border environment." They have 102 water stations in place in southern Arizona, Mexico and New Mexico, according to their Web site.

Humane Borders said their organization has dispensed roughly 135,000 gallons of water between March 7, 2001 and Sept. 20, 2008. They also claim to make over 70 trips each month to service water stations between May and September and 20 trips between October and April.

The organization actively encourages the legalization of undocumented workers, establishing guest work visas, demilitarizing the U.S. and Mexico borders, and assisting Mexico in its economic development, according to their web site.

Hoover said Humane Borders places all of their water stations on federal, state, county and private lands with permission and the appropriate permits and insurance.

"Over the course of nine years, we have had about 15,000 [volunteers] who have given their time," he said, and added that there are around 300 regularly participating volunteers in Tucson and about 100 in Phoenix.

Water stations are placed along the border and locations in Mexico where people are already experiencing difficulties before reaching the U.S. border, he said.

Hoover said the current immigration law is "brutal, ugly, racist and deadly," and said that "the number of immigrants who cross is situation driven."

He said that in an effort to curb the incidents of death in the desert, Humane Borders is working towards acquiring more permits for additional water stations.

"People should not need to take such desperate means to walk into a path of death instead of to a future," said Ohman, a Franciscan nun who has been involved with Humane Borders since the planning of its first meeting in June 2000.

She said that dehydration is the leading cause of death for border crossers and that "water is the best medicine for dehydration."

"Water is one of the basics of life and there is no reason a person should be deprived of water," she said.

Ohmann said that another important aspect of Humane Borders is that they pick up trash left by border crossers in the desert. She said this is a reflection of her faith, as care and respect for all creation is at the center of Franciscan beliefs.

Jeff Millsap has volunteered for Humane Borders for a little over two years, since moving to Tucson and learning about the deaths of border crossers in southern Arizona. He frequently goes on water drops and said he also participates in searches to find the bodies of border crossers who have died in the desert.

He said that on one occasion, a woman reported to the organization that her sister and uncle had died on the Tohono O'odham reservation, located west of Tucson, which led to the search for their bodies.

He said that although their remains were never found, the remains of others were and the medical examiner's office in Pima County was called.

"It was a powerful experience," he said.

Millsap said that the group is getting more experience in searching for remains, but that it can be difficult to organize and keep everyone together.

He said the group searches for bodies in areas where people are known to cross, but that they haven't found remains since the first time.

Millsap said that other groups are facing legal issues because they are placing water containers in places where permitting isn't feasible. He said Humane Borders has proper permits, but that they can't cover all the areas where migrants cross.

"Power and politics are directly contributing to deaths," he said.

Humane Borders cites their financial support from Pima County, local businesses, denominational gifts and private contributions.

Volunteer meetings are held at First Christian Church every Wednesday at 5:30 pm, at 740 E. Speedway in Tucson.

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