Death in the
Desert Prohibiting water stations contributed to migrant deaths, lawsuit
charges
By JAMES REEL
A $41 million claim against two federal agencies charges that the
lives of at least 11 border crossers could have been saved last year had a
faith-based organization been allowed to establish water stations in a wildlife
preserve.
Humane Borders, which advocates changes in U.S. policies affecting
workers migrating illegally from Mexico, maintains more than 20 well-marked
water tanks near migrant trails in the remote desert borderlands of Arizona and
California (NCR, April 5). During last fiscal year, 291 people have died
crossing the U.S.-Mexico frontier.
Early in 2001, Humane Borders was denied access to Cabeza Prieta
National Wildlife Refuge, a rugged, saguaro-studded haven for the endangered
Sonoran pronghorn antelope, stretching 56 miles along the Arizona-Mexico
border. Within weeks, 14 Mexicans had died along the refuges
Devils Path, a dry, nearly shadeless area where daytime
temperatures rise well above 100 degrees.
In May, two Yuma, Ariz., attorneys filed a $41 million claim
against the Department of Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
which manages the refuge. Charging that the governments refusal to put
water in the desert contributed to the migrants deaths, the claim demands
$3.75 million for 11 of the families of the deceased.
The government has to take on the responsibility of doing
something to safeguard folks who are crossing in these areas that are known to
be dangerous, said James Metcalf, one of the lawyers filing the claim.
The legal status of the individuals doesnt mean the landowner can
wave off all responsibility. And then theres the fact that you had an
organization trying to come into a specific area and volunteer -- at no expense
to taxpayers -- to place water stations that would have saved these
lives.
The government, protecting the areas wilderness status,
restricts vehicles to a single dirt road through the refuge. Remote tanks would
have to be replenished by volunteers carrying heavy water bottles on foot, an
excessively treacherous situation, according to a spokesman.
Although Tom Bauer, the spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife
regional office in Albuquerque, N.M., said he was appalled by the deaths, he
disputed the idea that the proposed Humane Borders stations would have been
relevant to this incident. The area that the migrants perished in was at
least 12 miles and two mountain ranges away from the nearest proposed Humane
Borders water site, he said. I do not believe under any
circumstances it would have assisted those poor people.
That does not seem correct at all, countered Metcalf.
We have reviewed maps of where the sites would have been and where the
individuals who died were found, and that couldnt be farther from the
truth. The other thing you have to remember is these folks wandered around in a
circular pattern to some degree, so its a little disingenuous from the
agencys standpoint to say something like that.
Following the deaths, Fish and Wildlife did allow 30-foot,
blue-flagged poles to be erected at about 10 existing stock tanks on the
refuge. The flags call attention to the open, 10,000-gallon tanks, which are
maintained to benefit the antelope.
It is certainly to their credit that [the Fish and Wildlife
officials] have taken that action, said attorney Metcalf. That
probably will not factor into the case, because you are not allowed to bring up
subsequent remedial measures in court. But it shows they know thats the
right thing to do, and its what they should be doing to discharge their
mandated duty to protect human lives on the property they manage.
Meanwhile, the federal agencies have another four months to
respond to the $41 million claim, and possibly negotiate a settlement. If that
fails, the attorneys will file a civil suit in district court.
Metcalf has also initiated a civil case against farm labor
contractor Francisco Vazquez-Torres, owner of Vazquez Harvesting in Lake
Placid, Fla. On July 3 a federal jury in Phoenix convicted Vazquez-Torres for
his role in the immigrant-smuggling ring that organized the ill-fated crossing.
He contributed to their loss of life and injuries to the survivors by
placing them in this dangerous situation, Metcalf said. Now that
theres a criminal conviction related to that, we think that greatly
enhances our chance of success in the civil suit.
When sentenced Sept. 23, Vazquez-Torres faces up to life in prison
and up to a $250,000 fine. The groups guide, Jesus Lopez-Ramos, has
already been convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Vazquez Harvesting
foreman Joel Viveros-Flores, also indicted in the case, still awaits trial.
Also at the beginning of July, members of nine religious groups
initiated Samaritan Patrol, which organizes volunteers to patrol in areas west
of Tuscon where Humane Borders has not been allowed to place water stations and
at least 33 border crossers have died since June. According to the Arizona
Daily Star, volunteers are searching for illegal border crossers who are in
distress and offer food, water and medical assistance.
From the perspective of faith communities, it is essential
that we do this, said the Rev. John Fife, pastor of Southside
Presbyterian Church. We have to cry out for an end to the policies that
have led to record-setting migrant deaths. It is a sin.
James Reel is a freelance writer living in Tucson,
Ariz.
National Catholic Reporter, August 2,
2002
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