No More Deaths
No More Deaths is an
History
No More Deaths was founded in 2004 by area
The organization was structured as an
Projects
Migrant centers
No More Deaths volunteers staff migrant centers in northern Mexico to provide aid to undocumented immigrants who have recently been deported or
Compiling human rights violations
No More Deaths trains volunteers to document what they see as
Prosecution of No More Deaths volunteers
Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz
On July 9, 2005, two No More Deaths volunteers, Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz, were arrested by a Border Patrol agent while transporting three immigrants from the
No More Deaths responded with a campaign called "Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime" to raise awareness about the case and persuade Judge Raner C. Collins to overrule Velasco and drop all charges. They distributed hundreds of bumper stickers and yard signs to supporters, and over 5,600 people (including the
Judge Collins dismissed all of the charges against Sellz and Strauss on September 1, 2006. The judge stated that at the time of their arrest, the two volunteers were following a protocol that had been previously established by the US Border Patrol and No More Deaths. Judge Collins stated that Sellz and Strauss had made an effort to ensure that their actions were lawful, and that “further prosecution would violate the Defendants’ due process rights.”[10]
On April 22, 2007, Sellz and Strauss were awarded the
Daniel Millis
On September 3, 2010, the littering conviction of Daniel Millis, for leaving water bottles in 2008 for immigrants crossing through a desert wildlife preserve was overturned by a 2-1 appeals court decision.[12][13]
Scott Warren
In 2018 migrants were in the news as President Trump threatened to send the U.S. military to close the border and stop the Central American migrant caravans.[14]
In January 2018, Scott Warren, a volunteer with No More Deaths, was arrested and charged with a felony for harboring migrants after Border Patrol allegedly witnessed him giving food and water to two migrants in the west desert near Cabeza Prieta.[15][16] Warren was tried on three felony charges: two counts of harboring undocumented migrants and one count of conspiracy to transport and harbor them at a structure in Ajo at a staging area for humanitarian aid efforts called "The Barn."[17][18] His arrest came only hours after No More Deaths published a report[19] criticizing actions of Border Patrol and accusing them of destroying humanitarian supplies in the desert. Together with Warren, more volunteers were charged by the authorities.[20][21]
At a trial in June 2019, the jury deadlocked after three days of deliberation.[17] Federal prosecutors retried Warren,[22][23][24] and in November 2019, Warren was acquitted on all charges.[25]
See also
- Water Station, a charitable organization providing water to people in Southern California desert areas
References
- ^ "No More Deaths Homepage". Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "A Humanitarian Crisis at the Border: New Estimates of Deaths Among Unauthorized Immigrants" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2013. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ Kuruvilla, Carol (August 6, 2018). "Volunteers Say They're Being Targeted For Leaving Water To Help Migrants". HuffPost. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ^ "History and Mission of No More Deaths". Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ "Mexico will let Tucson-based groups offer aid to migrants south of border". Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "Abuse Documentation and Custody Standards". Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ "Background on Prosecution of Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz". Archived from the original on August 31, 2006. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "2 arrested for aiding migrants cleared". Archived from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "Episcopal bishop joins migrant-aid prosecution protest". Archived from the original on February 14, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "Immigrant Rights Victory in Arizona". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ The 2007 Oscar Romero Award Archived 2007-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Williams, Carol J. (September 3, 2010). "Border activist's littering conviction is overturned". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 7, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
- ^ "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DANIEL J. MILLIS" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2010.
- ^ "As Caravan Of Migrants Heads North, Trump Threatens To Close Southern U.S. Border". NPR. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ "Volunteer arrested after giving food, water to undocumented immigrants". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ Quinn, Carrot (January 26, 2018). "Why was this man arrested for giving water to migrants crossing the border?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ a b Prendergast, Curt (June 12, 2019). "Jury deadlocks 8-4 for acquittal in trial of border-aid worker Scott Warren". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ Karas, Tania (June 6, 2019). "Crimes of compassion: US follows Europe's lead in prosecuting those who help migrants". Public Radio International. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- ^ "Disappeared: How US Border Enforcement Agencies Are Fueling a Missing Persons Crisis". The Disappeared Report. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ Shuham, Matt (June 12, 2019). "Mistrial For Border Volunteer Charged With Felonies For Aiding Migrants". Talking Points Memo.
- ^ "ASU Law School Helps Journalist Gain Access To Scott Warren Trial Documents". KJZZ. September 10, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
- ^ "Activist arrested for giving migrants food and shelter faces retrial". The Guardian. July 2, 2019.
- ^ "Second trial against activist who helped migrants to begin". Associated Press. November 15, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-16 – via Hartford Courant.
- ^ Ingram, Paul (November 14, 2019). "Prosecution rests, defense begins in 3rd day of re-trial of Scott Warren". TucsonSentinel.com. Retrieved 2019-11-16.
- ^ Stewart, Savannah (November 20, 2019). "Former ASU faculty associate Scott Warren not guilty in harboring trial". The State Press. Retrieved November 21, 2019.