Tag: Arizona

A direct attack on migrants

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Yesterday, four volunteers with No More Deaths/No Más Muertes went to federal court in Tucson, Arizona to defend their right to bring water, food, and basic medical aid to migrants crossing into the United States.

These charges are a direct attack on No More Deaths/No Más Muertes — and their ability to mitigate the direct effects of the humanitarian crisis perpetuated by the United States’ racist border and (long standing) economic policies. They also show yet another way Trump seeks to criminalize brown bodies and perpetuate truly vicious acts against people who are in the most need of aid and refuge.

Support the No More Deaths/No Más Muertes legal defense campaign by donating, volunteering, or organizing a fundraiser in your area.

These charges have interrupted and criminalized the important work of No More Deaths. A total of eight people were arrested delivering water to paths traveled by migrants in a southern Arizona wilderness area — and in the middle of the militarized border zone. They’re being charged with crimes related to wildlife refuge restrictions. A ninth arrest, of No More Deaths volunteer Scott Warren, resulted in felony charges related to providing humanitarian aid to migrants.

Since 2004, this group has been delivering humanitarian aid to migrants in the Arizona desert — where so many people die or are brutalized, detained, and separated from their family by border patrol.

Now No More Deaths/No Más Muertes needs your help to drop the bullshit charges against them.

Support the No More Deaths/No Más Muertes legal defense campaign by donating, volunteering, or organizing a fundraiser in your area.

We know that the flow of migrants is only likely to accelerate as the climate crisis gets worse. In the next fifty years, many of the places will become uninhabitable and tens of millions will likely be forced to look for new homes. We also know that climate change is itself a product of deeper economic and social systems of oppression based on the economic interests of industrialized nations. That’s why we need groups like No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes to create avenues for mutual aid to flow to those who are left out, persecuted, and killed by the state.

No More Deaths/No Más Muertes has been a radical ally of Rising Tide for years, and any support or attention we can draw to their work is helpful. Please follow their efforts and the ongoing legal challenges, donate if you are able and volunteer if you can.

To help, you can spread the word about the No More Deaths/No Más Muertes charges by watching and sharing their interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!

We denounce the racist weaponization of the Wilderness Act against humanitarian aid workers to reinforce an agenda of indigenous erasure and settler-colonialist notions of ecological purity.

Travels along the border with No More Deaths

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Yesterday, we crewed up with No More Deaths/No Más Muertes and dropped water, supplies, and blankets along Trump’s militarized border zone in Arizona.

There were border patrol, helicopters, sensors in the ground, checkpoints…. It’s hard to describe the terrain — it’s incredibly beautiful, but also incredibly treacherous with huge swings in temperatures.

So many people die or get brutalized, detained, and separated from their family by the border patrol when crossing here. These are truly vicious acts against people who are in the most need of refuge.

Communities here are resisting the racist militarization right in their backyard and the criminalization of brown bodies — and they could use your support.

Also, a handful of “water droppers” are facing bullshit charges for dropping waters and supplies inside of a wildlife refuge.

Trials begin January 15th for the first round of No More Deaths defendants.

No More Deaths calls on everyone who supports the right to receive water, food and medical care, regardless of documentation status, to come out in support of humanitarian aid! Join us at the Federal Courthouse for a press conference at 8:30 AM on Tuesday, January 15th. Pack the court starting at 9:30 and for the rest of the week! Please let us know you are coming at bit.ly/aidisnotacrime.

BACKGROUND:
The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is one of the deadliest migration corridors along the US–Mexico border—the government’s own description of this vast, remote region states that it “is big and wild and can be incredibly hostile to those that need water to survive.” Maintaining a strong humanitarian presence in this area is vital. All of our volunteers’ charges stem from actions they took with the goal of preventing further unnecessary loss of life in this region where thirty-two sets of human remains were recovered in 2017 and where many more people have disappeared without a trace. The intention to save lives has never been disputed by the prosecution, and our defense argues that the decision to pursue criminal charges “violates the universal sense of justice.”

Please donate to No More Deaths and their extremely important, on-the-ground work.