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Two humanitarians deny federal government plea bargain
by jessica lee
Thursday, Jul. 21, 2005 at 2:56 PM
No More Deaths volunteers, Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, publicly denied the United States’ plea bargain during a press conference on Thursday. Lawyers 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.
Margo Cowan, lawyer for No More Deaths, said Border Patrol issued a statement saying they have no problem with the No More Deaths campaign as long as they don’t transport persons in furtherance of illegal presence in the United States.
Similar plea bargains have been given to hundreds of activists around the country. Demonstrators who were arrested, a majority preemptively, at both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions last year were given similar plea bargains by state prosecutors. Many believe it is an attempt to silence political activity because the activists would have to admit guilt and be on good behavior “probation” for 12-18 months in response to having their charges dropped.
No More Deaths released a written statement from Emil Hidalgo-Solis, one of the undocumented individuals who was being taken to the hospital by Sellz and Strauss when Border Patrol arrested them.
“When the volunteers inquired of me as to my medical condition, I told them I was very sick. I told them that I had been having diarrhea with blood in it. I further told them I could not go on, and that I needed to see a doctor,” Hidalgo-Solis said in the translated statement. “The volunteers indicated that they would take us to see a doctor for treatment. They told us that we could not hide or attempt to evade the Border Patrol while we were in route to the doctor.”
Hidalgo-Solis said he did not received food for 18 hours after Border Patrol detained him.
While the arrest has shaken up her life, Sellz says that the incident has only strengthened her resolve for continuing her humanitarian work. “I feel as strong about my work as I always have, especially after witnessing how Border Patrol treats ill people,” Sellz said. “It is difficult when you have a system that tells you your compassion is wrong.” Sellz, who also had her car impounded, is currently a university student in New Mexico.
Cowan said that the federal government changed its position on humanitarian groups transporting undocumented persons in need of medical attention. “They have supported us the last several years, but the arrests show a change in attitude. The law hasn’t changed, only their interpretation of the law,” Cowan said.
Walker strongly believes the federal government’s change in their interpretation of the law is “an overt attempt to kowtow to the right-wing racist mentality in the Bush administration.”
Cowan said the appropriate action of the federal government at this point would be to drop the charges and welcome humanitarian assistance because it has been proven the Border Patrol is not equipped to handle the situation in the desert.
No More Deaths, and several other border activist and humanitarian groups, question Border Patrol’s policy to prosecute Sellz and Strauss while lying a blind eye to the actions of the Minutemen Project volunteers, and other “vigilante” groups, on the Arizona-Mexico border. Comments by Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner on July 20 regarding “legitimizing citizen volunteers” surprised not only higher ups within the Department of Homeland Defense, but also the border activist community. On July 21, the Associated Press reported that the Department of Homeland Security announced that it has no plans to enlist citizen volunteers. “That job should continue to be done by the highly trained, professional law enforcement officials,” said DHS spokesman Brian J. Roehrkasse.
The Minutemen Project, a grassroots effort to close the border from the “invasion of illegal aliens” recently announced they had gone nationwide with active groups in 18 states.
As of July 20, 197 migrants deaths have been recorded in Arizona since October 1, 2004. No More Deaths believes that without the help of humanitarian volunteers, the number of deaths in the desert would be considerably higher.
The next hearing for Sellz and Strauss is set for Friday, June 22 at 4pm at the Evo A. DeConcini Federal Courthouse, 405 W. Congress, in Tucson. Sellz and Strauss will formally decline the United States’ plea bargain.
In response to the arrests, No More Deaths announced a “Flood the Desert with Volunteers” campaign that will begin Sunday, July 24 with volunteer trainings. Trainings will be held at Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 West 23rd Street, from 1-4pm.
No More Deaths is a grassroots umbrella organization that is comprised of various border activist, faith-based and other humanitarian groups that are dedicated to comprehensive immigration reform and direct action humanitarian aid along the U.S.-Mexico border. http://www.nomoredeaths.org.
For more information:
Derechos Humanos/Alianza
Indigena Sin Fronteras - http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net
Frontera de Cristo - http://www.pcusa.org/border/Frontera.htm
BorderLinks – http://www.borderlinks.org
Enlaces America - http://www.enlacesamerica.org
No More Deaths – http://www.nomoredeaths.org
Humane Borders – http://www.humaneborders.org
Indymedia Chiapas - http://www.chiapas.mediosindependientes.org
Sonoran Samaritans - http://www.pcusa.org/border/sonoran_samaritans.htm
La Jornada Sin Fronteras - http://www.jornadasinfronteras.com
Border Action Network – http://www.borderaction.org
Free Trade of the Americas newswire – http://www.ftaaimc.org
Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice - http://www.sneej.org
Samaritans - http://www.samaritanpatrol.org
Just Coffee – http://www.justcoffee.org
Migration Policy Institute - http://www.migrationpolicy.org
La Resistencia - http://www.laresistencia.org
Global Issues - http://www.globalissues.org
Border Matters - http://www.bordermatters.net