Trial of No Mas Muertes Volunteer

The trial of No Mas Muertes volunteer, Walt Stanton, who was charged with littering when he placed gallon jugs of water in the desert in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, has been taking place in Tucson the last three days.

Click for local Tucson TV news report.

From Democracy Now Headlines:

"No More Deaths Activist on Trial in Arizona

In Arizona, a human rights activist from the group No More Deaths went on trial Monday for leaving plastic jugs of water in a National Wildlife Refuge near the US-Mexico border. The activist, Walt Staton, says the water jugs were left to prevent migrants from dying of dehydration. The US government has accused Staton of “knowingly littering” in the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge. The group No More Deaths has worked for years to provide humanitarian aid to migrants. Over the past decade, nearly 2,000 men, women and children have died while trying to cross the border into Arizona."

Check out the No Mas Muertes (No More Deaths) website for more information.

Finally, the response letter from Rev. Robin Hoover, the pastor at First Christian Church (where I am staying) and the Founder and President Emeritus of Humane Borders.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Statement from Humane Borders

Re: Conviction of Walt Stanton for littering

Walt Stanton, a volunteer for the group No More Deaths was convicted of knowingly littering on the Buenos Aires Wildlife Refuge while actually placing life-saving jugs of water out to help reduce the numbers of migrants dying on that property.

Well, here we go again! The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is continuing to show blatant disregard for the value of human life on USFWS property. Apparently, the local land managers are slow learners. Apparently, nothing has been learned since May 23, 2001 when 14 dead migrants were recovered along with 12 partially mummified survivors on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge after refusing Humane Borders permission to install water stations on known trails. A recently retired executive for USFWS recently said, “That wasn’t our best day.”

Water in the desert means life. Water is placed in the desert to save lives from California to Texas. Then Deputy Director of the Department of Interior, Lynn Scarlett, wrote a memo supporting cooperation between land managers and humanitarian groups. The presence of water stations and water drops are statistically significant in reducing migrant deaths. These things work, and they have the approval at the highest levels of government.

If rational and reasonable, a land manager—especially of a refuge—would choose to have water on the refuge to reduce the numbers of deaths of a migrating species called humans. But, no!

There is no refuting that the United States Border Patrol and the management and law enforcement officials of the USFWS appear to be in collusion to run interference with efforts to save lives in the desert. Without the Border Patrol calling in the BA law enforcement agent and further investigating the incident, Stanton could not have been prosecuted successfully. Humanitarians are being targeted. Migrants are not prosecuted for littering. Border Patrol agents are not cited for damaging habitat even though study after study has shown the presence of the Department of Homeland Security personnel and equipment to have a very deleterious impact on the environment.

It is an affront to human sensibilities for a southern Arizona jury of peers to side with the government that will allow persons on this property to hunt, kill, drive over vegetation, scatter wildlife and not set a bottle of fresh, clean life-saving water out for a human being in distress. The incongruities are actually a sin. That word gets thrown around too much, but all righteous people—religious or not—should be indignant at the result of this misappropriation of authority, jurisdiction, and power at such a low pay grade.

Humane Borders will immediately and formally apply to place and maintain water stations on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge at or as near as possible to the sites that have been frequented by No More Deaths volunteers. We believe that the Refuge personnel can redeem themselves by indicating to the greater public—even the nation—that they are uncomfortable with the numbers of deaths of migrants on that property and that they are willing to work to ameliorate the human damage that is occurring on their watch.

Absent such permission, Humane Borders will do everything possible to politicize the deaths on this property.

Rev. Robin Hoover, Ph.D.

Founder and President Emeritus

On Behalf of The Board of Directors

Humane Borders, Inc.

Approved June 3, 2009