Humanitarian aid work results in citation, confiscation : AZ IMC

On Friday, February 22, 2008, four border environmental and humanitarian aid volunteers hoped to make a difference by picking up trash and leaving water for people in need. But the water they left along trails north of Sasabe on Friday did not quench the thirst of ailing migrants. Instead, it resulted in a citation for littering.

Dan Millis, 28, was presented with a $175 littering ticket by U.S. Fish and Wildlife law enforcement officers after they confiscated several sealed gallon containers of drinking water that he and three others placed for migrants to find. If he does not pay, he could face six months of jail time or a $5,000 penalty. The four volunteers are from No More Deaths, a Tucson-based aid group that seeks to end death and suffering of migrants along Arizona’s border with Mexico by providing food, water, and medical aid.

The volunteers were surprised to learn that they had violated regulations not only by leaving water for migrants, but also by picking up trash. A government-issued Special Use Permit is required for either activity.

“I had no idea it was wrong to pick up trash,” stated volunteer Chris Fleischman, 47, a licensed EMT from Phoenix. “It makes no sense.”

Officers Kirkpatrick and Kozma seized twenty-two gallons of drinking water from the trails, along with eight gallons from Millis’ vehicle. They also took photographs of the volunteers, the exterior and interior of the vehicle, and the contents of Millis’ notebook.

“I was kind of bummed they didn’t take the trash too while they were at it,” stated Millis. “We had at least five crates of it.”

One of the volunteers, Max Garcia, 26, showed the officers pictures of a fourteen year-old girl whose remains he, Millis, and other No More Deaths volunteers discovered on Wednesday.

“I tried to appeal to their sense of responsibility, so we could continue this lifesaving work,” said Garcia. “Unfortunately, the appeal did not work. Instead, I got yelled at.”

238 migrants were found dead in the Arizona borderlands during the 2007 fiscal year. No More Deaths has been working to provide humanitarian aid to people in need since 2004. Vandalism of life-saving water and other humanitarian aid supplies is an egregious offense that is becoming all too common in our desert. This case is particularly ironic and absurd, given the U.S. government’s responsibility for creating the problem, continuing human rights abuses, and impeding attempts at direct relief.

“When we got in the car to leave, I told officer Kirkpatrick that humanitarian aid is never a crime,” states Sebastian Rodriguez, 25, the only female among the four volunteers. “He replied, ‘It is a crime, and you’re about to find out that it is.’”