No More Deaths Volunteers Receive Prestigious Human Rights Award

Shanti Sellz (right) and Daniel Strauss (left) stand with Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now!. Goodman gave a keynote address at the award ceremony, and interviewed Strauss and Sellz on her show.

According to the Rothko Chapel, this award is presented periodically to individuals and organizations, who, at great risk, denounce violations of human rights. Because the United States government has no policy regarding humanitarian aid on the border, No More Deaths volunteers and citizens of the border region are constantly at risk of federal prosecution. Despite having a verbal agreement with Border Patrol, Sellz and Strauss were arrested and charged with transporting undocumented migrants.

Knowing the personal risks, Sellz says "there are many hundreds of people who continue to do this life-saving work." Sellz emphasized, "The prosecution is another example of state-sponsored repression for speaking out. The government is repressing the work of people who choose to help those who are being marginalized and hurt by government policies."

In reflecting on the humanitarian aid work done in the desert, Strauss commented, "No More Deaths and others have done a tremendous job in stopping deaths along the border. It's never a crime to save someone's life." [ Press Release from No More Deaths]

Zaptista Other Campaign Meets With the Peoples of the Border

"What we are trying to plant here is that we have to unite as indigenous peoples. The earth dies the same in O'odham territory, Navajo, Cherokee, Tzeltal, Tzotzil, Purepecha, Nahuatl, and we must unite - not only in Mexico, but with the entire continent.

Those that are already high up, “up above”, have already demonstrated throughout the centuries that the only thing they are capable of is destroying the earth. No more – that’s enough! Now we are going to take the destiny of the earth and its defense into our hands. We won't leave it another minute in the hands of the rich.

We, who have the color of the earth - and who have hearts of corn regardless of the color of our skin - we have to do it, because if we don't the world will disappear."

click here for a full English / Spanish transcription of Marcos' speech, and here for more coverage of the meeting in Magdalena de Kino.

For further coverage of the Other Campaign, please visit Narco News

Bi-national Effort Provides Assistance to Thousands of Deported Migrants Every Week

No More Deaths has launched a new Nogales project with Mexican partners to provide assistance to newly deported migrants.

On July 11th in the Mexican National Institute of Immigration (INM) for Nogales, Sonora, a historic partnership was formed between the No More Deaths coalition and Mexican authorities. The press conference announced the new bi-national agreement to give support and humanitarian aid to the thousands of migrants repatriated to Mexico each week.

The project has formed and gained momentum very quickly. Just the week prior, the Commission’s office in Nogales, Sonora, where the No More Deaths project is based, was filled with 19-tons of water, which is more than 18,000 bottles of water. Due to this partnership, the No More Deaths volunteers were granted authorization by the Mexican authorities to pass through the port with more than 30 loads of this water.

No More Deaths has also launched a similar project in Agua Prieta, Sonora, where about 100 migrants are repatriated each day. Since June 30th NMD volunteers - including many locals - have provided life-saving aid 24 hours a day, meeting migrants as they are returned to Mexico.

Meanwhile, the body count continues to grow on the southern border, with more than 178 deaths in Arizona alone since last year. On July 27th four migrants drowned in a drainage canal near Nogales Arizona. An 11-year-old girl crossing the desert with her sister died of heatstroke on July 25th, after being rushed to a hospital in nearby Sells, AZ. During the same week four other bodies were recovered in the desert near Tucson.

Third Annual Migrant Trail Walk Ends Sunday

Read More>>> | More information about the Migrant Trail Walk | Arizona IMC Border Issues Coverage

Tens of Thousands in Marches Across Arizona

STUDENTS TAKE THE STREETS

Transforming the Streets into the Classroom: Students Protest in Arizona

Risking suspension and having to jump over fences after schools were locked down, students have walked out of classes and taken the streets across Arizona this week to protest national immigration legislation. Following initial walk-outs in Los Angeles, America's youth are claiming their political power and are speaking out against U.S. House Resoluation 4437 and the U.S. Senate version of the bill.

March 31 Story about Continued Tucson Protests

March 30 Photos from Protest in Downtown Tucson

Read More about Nation-wide Student Demonstrations at U.S. Indymedia Center

Democracy Now! March 29 Story

LAST WEEK'S MASS DEMONSTRATIONS IN ARIZONA

More than 20,000 people jammed the streets through central Phoenix near Senator Jon Kyl’s office on Friday to protest anti-immigration legislation that would further criminalize undocumented immigrants and build new fences along the Arizona-Mexico border. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which Kyl serves on, is planning to finish writing the Senate version of HR 4437 on Monday. The largest march in Phoenix history complements recent protests nation-wide, including more than 500,000 in Los Angeles, 40,000 in Denver, and over 100,000 in Chicago.

The fight to protect the San Francisco Peaks from the proposed Snowbowl Ski Resort expansion and snowmaking joined the pro-immigrant sentiment on Saturday when more than 1,200 people marched through downtown Flagstaff in support of sacred sites and immigrant rights for all the Americas.

Tucsonans protested a fundraiser for Kyl attended by Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday, and on Friday more than 1,000 people lined Oracle Road near Kyl's Tucson office to show opposition to his support for the anti-immigrant bill.

Daily Vigil in Memorial and Protest of Death on the Border

In preparation for the upcoming trial of Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, members of No More Deaths in Tucson and Phoenix have launched a forty-day fast (to coincide with the Lenten and Passover seasons). As the U.S. Senate prepares to debate some of the most regressive immigration legislation since the Asiatic Barred Zone Act of 1917, No More Deaths joins voices around the country in protest and is mobilizing its supporters to demand a humane resolution to the border crisis.

Every day from 8am to sunset supporters are holding vigil at El Tiradito Shrine in downtown Tucson. Various individuals- including religious and community leaders- have participated in the fast since its kick-off on March 1st. Each day, supporters remember 100 of the more than 4,000 migrants who have died while trying to cross the border since 1994. Prayers are read and names recited daily at 8:30am, 12:30pm, and 6:00pm.

In addition to remembering needless suffering and death on the border, the fast is meant to protest the policies that cause this death. The militarization of the border has done little to reduce undocumented immigration. Rather, it has divided families and communities, fueled organized crime, driven millions of workers into the shadows and resulted in a daily humanitarian crisis along the border.

No More Deaths also reasserts it call that the United States drop all charges against Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss. Shanti and Daniel were arrested July 9th while attempting to medically evacuate three ill migrants to receive care in Tucson. They currently face up to 15 years in prison and $500,000 in fines. During July more than 78 migrants died in the Tucson Border Patrol Sector – the deadliest on record. Humanitarian aid is never a crime, and it is wrong to prosecute people for saving lives – particularly in this context.

A hearing will be held on Monday, March 13th in federal court to have the charges dismissed, in appeal of the January decision by Magistrate Bernardo Velasco to send the case to trial. Supporters are invited to join a procession from the shrine to the courthouse at 9am.

for more information, please visit www.nomoredeaths.org and Arizona Indymedia’s Special Coverage of Border Issues

Record Year in an Escalating Crisis

A record number of migrants died in southern Arizona this past year while crossing the U.S. / Mexico border. As the U.S. Border Patrol continues a strategy of militarization along the border, 282 bodies were recovered of workers who have no legal channel with which to migrate north.

Since 1994 it is estimated that more than 3,000 people have died attempting to cross the border, with the death toll growing every year as a result of law enforcement policies that push migration out of accessible, urban areas and into remote desert.

It is significant that each of the “immigration reform and border security” bills currently before congress seeks to increase border militarization, a failed policy of applying para-military logic, technology and manpower to resolve a civilian crisis. After ten years of pursuing such a strategy, violence and organized crime have only increased – as has undocumented immigration – partly as a result.

The impact is felt most in border communities, where both ranchers and city residents are affected by hyped-up law enforcement, racial profiling and police abuse, caught in the cross-fire of a low-intensity conflict that has been created around them. These impacts are now beginning to expand across the state, as border vigilante groups have begun harassing workers at day labor centers in Phoenix and the U.S. Border Patrol engages in illegal sweeps of workers in Tucson.

In the midst of the suffering and death created by U.S. border policy, the government is continuing its prosecution of two humanitarian workers arrested July 9th while trying to evacuate three critically ill migrants to medical care in Tucson. In response, the No More Deaths coalition has launched a campaign “Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime”. The trial is scheduled to begin on December 20th.

Motion to Dismiss Charges Denied

On January 12th just before 5pm federal magistrate Bernardo Velasco announced that he is denying a motion to dismiss charges against two humanitarian volunteers with the No More Deaths movement.

Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss were arrested July 9th, 2005 while transporting three seriously ill men to receive medical care in Tucson. Their arrest has sparked international outrage, with groups such as Amnesty International, the ACLU and more than 2000 individuals and organizations nationwide speaking out in their defense. To date more than 50,000 petitions have been set to federal prosecutor Paul Charlton calling on him to cease prosecution.

More than 282 children, women and men died needlessly in the Arizona desert in 2005. No More Deaths is a coalition of human rights groups that has worked since 2004 to end this death toll through advocacy and direct action. More than 300 volunteers participated in 2005, with 68 medical evacuations just like the one for which Shanti and Daniel are being prosecuted. Following Thursday’s decision No More Deaths released the following statement:

“We are confident that we will prevail at trial and we are calling on our community to come together to support Shanti and Daniel and the principle that humanitarian aid is never a crime. We pledge to continue working to end the unnecessary suffering and death on our border.”

A trial date has not yet been established. More information will be released as soon as it becomes available.

See www.nomoredeaths.org for more information about No More Deaths and the trial.

Call for Federal Prosecutor Paul Charlton to Drop Charges

With the message that “Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime,” the No More Deaths Coalition launched a campaign Wednesday to pressure the U.S. Attorney to drop charges against two volunteers who were arrested July 9 while bringing three dehydrated migrants to Tucson for emergency medical care.

Press conferences and events were held in Douglas, Tucson, Phoenix and Prescott to mobilize statewide support for No More Deaths and the right for citizens to provide humanitarian aid without fear of persecution.

Former U.S. Attorney Bates Butler led the Tucson press conference, questioning why the prosecutor's office of Paul Charlton (current federal attorney for the District of Arizona) - already over-extended in the prosecution of organized crime and drug smuggling - is choosing to use meager resources to prosecute two humanitarian volunteers.

“What is on trial here is a principal,” said movement lawyer Margo Cowen. “The United States is trying to criminalize the administering of life-saving aid. We are here to state unequivocally that humanitarian aid is never a crime,” she said. Cowan joined others in calling for Charlton to “do the right thing, and drop these charges.”

”With the deaths of more than 282 migrants in Southern Arizona in 2005, the need for the humanitarian work that Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss are being prosecuted for is greater than ever," Cowan said.

• Interviews with No More Deaths volunteers about the arrests - RealMedia | 5 min. (Produced by PanLeft)

Please see www.nomoredeaths.org for information about how to get involved.

Two humanitarians deny federal government plea bargain

JULY 25 UPDATE: One Charge Dropped and Volunteers Swarm the Desert

The United States dropped the obstruction of justice charge for both Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss after the two humanitarian volunteers refused to accept the federal government's plea bargain at the hearing on Friday, July 22. Emil Hidalgo-Solis, an undocumented migrant Sellz and Strauss were evacuating, will give a taped deposition on August 2. It is expected Hidalgo-Solis will be deported soon after.

The No More Death "Flood the Desert with Volunteers" event kicked off July 24 with the training of more than 100 volunteers. For the week of July 25, these volunteers will patrol designated roads with food and water, with the hope to save more lives of undocumented migrants who are traveling during the hottest time of the year. The majority of the volunteers are from Southern Arizona, but some people came as far as Boston for the event. NMD says that the event is the community's response to the arrest of Sellz and Strauss, as well as the continued campaign to bring attention to the high rates of migrant deaths in the desert.

JULY 20 Original Story

No More Deaths volunteers, Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, publicly denied the United States’ plea bargain during a press conference on Thursday. Lawyers representing Sellz and Strauss say that the two humanitarians, who were arrested July 9 by U.S. Border Patrol while aiding severely ill undocumented migrants, will not plead guilty for actions they say are not against the law. A hearing will be held Friday, June 22 at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in downtown Tucson. The No More Deaths’ “Flood the Desert with Volunteers” campaign, in response to the arrests, will begin Sunday at 1pm with volunteer trainings.

Tucson, Arizona - No More Deaths volunteers, Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, publicly denied the United States’ plea bargain during a press conference on Thursday at the Southside Presbyterian Church. Lawyers representing Sellz and Strauss say that the two humanitarians will not plead guilty for actions they say are not against the law.

“Humanitarian work needs to be applauded, not prosecuted,” Strauss said. “Shanti and I are not accepting this plea because we committed no crime.”

Sellz was arrested one day after she tried to help a family find the remains of their lost daughter in the desert. “We cannot stand by and watch others perish, and we can find no guilt in saving another’s life,” Sellz said.

Sellz and Strauss were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol in Southern Arizona on July 9 and charged with one felony count of transportation of an undocumented person and one felony count of obstruction of justice. The two volunteers, both 23, encountered three individuals, two of whom were ill and had severe blisters, and the third who was vomiting and had severe diarrhea at the Aravaca Camp. According to No More Deaths, Sellz and Strauss were advised to take the three to the nearest medical facility after consulting with two doctors and one nurse. While evacuating the migrants, Sellz and Strauss were stopped and arrested by Border Patrol.

On July 13, the United States offered to drop the two federal charges in exchange for Sellz and Strauss to enter a diversion program including admission of guilt and probation for one year.

Bill Walker and Jeff Rogers, lawyers representing Sellz and Strauss, say the humanitarian volunteers will not accept guilt for engaging in actions they believe are legal. They claim transporting undocumented migrants who are in immediate need of medical attention is not in violation of federal law.

“The statute doesn’t say transportation of illegal aliens is against the law,” Walker said. “Transporting is only illegal if it is in furtherance of an illegal purpose,” he said. Transporting people for necessarily emergency medical care is not illegal under the law, he said.

For entire story and short videos from the press conference: click here

Press Conference to be Held Monday, July 11th at 12 Noon @ Southside Presbyterian Church

On Saturday, July 9th two human rights volunteers with the No More Deaths Coalition were arrested by the Border Patrol while medically evacuating three migrants in southern Arizona.

This action by the Border Patrol follows a week in which the bodies of 15 migrants were found in the scorching Arizona desert.

A press conference will be held Monday, July 11th at 12:00 noon at Southside Presbyterian Church, where individuals of conscious, religious leaders, human rights advocates, and grassroots organizers affiliated with the No More Deaths campaign will congregate to express their deep outrage.

for more information see link

No More Deaths

El Sabado, 9 de Julio, dos voluntarios con el coalicion "No Mas Muertes" fueron arrestado por la Patrulla Fronteriza Estadounidense cuando estaban rescatando dos migrantes herridos del desierto cerca de Arivaca en Arizona.

Este accion por la Migra sigue una semana en que mas que 15 migrantes se mueron en el desierto de Arizona.

Habra una conferencia de la prensa el Lunes 11 de Julio en Southside Presbyterian Church a las 12 de la tarde. Por favor vengan para estacionarse en solidaridad con estos do humanitarianos.

Volunteers Work to Diminish Human Cost of Militarization

So far, more than 132 migrants have perished this year in the Arizona desert, adding to the more than 3,000 deaths that have occured since Operation Gatekeeper and similar militarized border policies began in 1994.

By pushing migration into the most hostile and remote desert regions, U.S. border policy leads directly to this human toll. Since 1994 the number of dead has climbed every year. In response, social justice and humanitarian groups alligned with the No More Deaths coalition have begun mobilizing volunteers in southern Arizona.

In addition to placing water tanks in the desert, working with migrant shelters and providing medical aid to migrants in distress, volunteers with No More Deaths have established a 24-hour presence in the desert to provide food and water to people in need and rescue migrants from the lethal desert heat.

Since the opening of the desert camps on June 5th, volunteers estimate that they have helped more than 100 people, many of whom had been in the desert for days, sickened by contaminated water or without any water at all.

While interaction with law enforcement has been limited, the U.S. Border Patrol has begun regular surveillance of No More Deaths activity, intimidating volunteers in an already delicate political environment.

No More Deaths is looking for volunteers and material support. To find out how to get involved visit www.nomoredeaths.org/getinvolved.html.

Derechos Humanos Border Action Network No Mas Muertes

More than 50 people walk 75 miles from Sasabe to Tucson to support the undocumented migrants

The quiet desert town of Sasabe, Sonora witnessed more than 100 people cross the border Monday on the first day of The Migrant Trail: We Walk for Life event. Organized by a host of border humanitarian and activist groups, the 75-mile hike aims to draw attention to the dangerous conditions that undocumented migrants face when attempting to cross the scorching desert in hopes of finding work. Walkers will end the walk in Tucson on Sunday.

“The No More Deaths Organization is committed to stopping deaths in the desert,” said Margo Cowan, a lawyer with NMD on Monday. “We want to take back the public space where the government says it is wrong to help migrants. It’s our duty to help. We will be walking in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are traveling all around us.”

The Migrant Trail follows only a week after 12 undocumented travelers died in Arizona during a record-breaking heat wave. Forty-one migrants have died since October. It is estimated that more than 3,000 migrants have died since the early 1990s.

No one know how many individuals trek through the 350-mile Arizona border terrain. U.S. Border Patrol detained nearly 500,000 migrants last year, deporting most of them just south of the border. Over the last decade, Border Patrol has cracked down on migrants crossing through city centers. These policies have forced migration out into the dangerous desert.

Hector Suarez, organizer with the Migrant Trail Walk Committee, emphasized the need to show support with the migrants. “We cannot say that once we complete the walk we know what it is really like for migrants,” Suarez said. “These people are leaving behind their homes and their families to risk their lives for a better life.”

Protests Ignite and Media Swarms as Minuteman Project Invades Southern Arizona

Minuteman Project highlights complexity of border crisis

While the vigilante, border activist and humanitarian groups all agree U.S. immigration policy is flawed, the dispute on how to fix the border is clashing out in the desert heat

There was no fooling around April 1 when hundreds of “vigilantes” swarmed to defend small stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border, picking up the slack where they say the government is failing to stop the so-called “invasion of mobs of illegal aliens and terrorists.” The month-long gathering, dubbed the Minuteman Project, has attracted volunteers from all of the country to come camp in the desert and monitor the border.

Yet, the story of the weekend was the flocks of media that crept into the Southern Arizona desert, often times outnumbering the number of Minuteman volunteers and the dozens of protestors that met to confront them.

Many have criticized the amount of media attention, saying that they paid too much attention to a project that may or may not be successful. “The media has become a story in itself,” said Bisbee resident Mike Anderson as he stood on Highway 80 with a sign Saturday morning. “I want the media to go home and the vigilantes to go home with their guns,” he said.

Organized primarily to reap media attention to a region wrought with conflict and controversy rather than slow down the amount of undocumented travelers, the project has been called patriotic by some and racist by others.

UPDATE: April 3

Photo Summary of Weekend Protests

Photo Summary of Minuteman Project volunteers: Part 1

Photo Summary of Minuteman Project volunteers: Part 2

Festivals, conferences and a 75-mile march draw attention to border violence in Arizona

The group is also setting up aid camps in the desert to offer food, water and some medical help to those making the deadly trip across the desert in hopes of a better life. In 2003, over 200 people died while crossing the desert. The last couple years have had a spike in deaths due to US policy making it much tougher to enter the country legally, prompting many to attempt a dangerous hike across the hot, wild lands of southern Arizona. Thousands of border patrol agents now tear through the fragile desert in humvees, jeeps, suburbans, ATV’s and other off-road vehicles searching for immigrants. Helicopters, cameras, night-vision, dogs and other equipment assist the border patrol in their quest. And then there are the vigilante groups, which had a surge in membership in the past couple years of mostly ranchers living along the border, that seek to protect their "private property" from "illegals." One group, Ranch Rescue, recently halted operations (so they claim) in Arizona due to bad press resulting from one of its leaders assisting in an assault of Salvadorian migrants.

Several groups are active in the Southwest, particularly in Arizona, working to make the border safer through both direct and political action. All groups are taking donations and volunteers to prepare for the upcoming summer. Check out the sites below to learn more about what the groups are doing, and what you can do to help. AZ IndyMedia hopes to provide more in-depth coverage of what many of these groups are doing throughout the summer.

Also, an action at the The Third Summit of Governments and Heads of State of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union in Guadalajara this weekend has left many people injured and imprisioned. More info: English artilce | Guadalajara IMC

Una festival de resistencia contra la frontera! / A festival of resistance against the border!

Musicos, teatro de fuego, artistas, poetas, teatreros y más vendrán a esta ciudad mexicana cerca de la frontera para demostrar las conexiones entre la militarizacion de la frontera, la situación de Palestina, la destrucción de la tierra y las luchas indígenas. Hay lugares para dormir.

Musicians, fire-jugglers, artists, poets, agitators, thespians, among others will converge at the Mexican bordertown of Nogales to show the connection between border militarization and the militarization in Palestine, the devastation of the environment, and the struggles of indigenous peoples. Housing is available.

Agosto 16 - 18 2002 - la Casa de Cultura, Nogales Mex
empieza a las dos de la tarde el viernes / event begins at 2 pm on Friday

Festival website | call for workshops