Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

dalton99a

(81,708 posts)
Sun Jan 27, 2019, 09:28 PM Jan 2019

Convicted for leaving water for migrants in the desert -- this is Trump's justice

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/convicted-for-leaving-water-for-migrants-in-the-desert--this-is-trumps-justice/2019/01/27/9d4b3104-2013-11e9-8b59-0a28f2191131_story.html

Convicted for leaving water for migrants in the desert — this is Trump’s justice
By Editorial Board
January 27 at 6:08 PM

A FEW weeks ago, federal prosecutors in Arizona secured a conviction against four humanitarian aid workers who left water in the desert for migrants who might otherwise die of heat exposure and thirst. Separately, they dropped manslaughter charges against a U.S. Border Patrol agent who fired 16 times across the border, killing a teenage Mexican boy. The aid workers face a fine and up to six months in jail. The Border Patrol officer faces no further legal consequences.

That is a snapshot of twisted frontier justice in the age of Trump. Save a migrant’s life, and you risk becoming a political prisoner. Kill a Mexican teenager, and you walk free.

The four aid workers, all women, were volunteers in service to an organization, No More Deaths, whose religious views inform its mission to prevent undocumented migrants from dying during their perilous northward trek. They drove into the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, about 100 miles southwest of Phoenix, to leave water jugs along with some canned beans.

The women — Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick — made no effort to conceal their work. Confronted by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer, they said they believed everyone deserved access to basic survival needs. One of them, Ms. Orozco-McCormick, compared the wildlife refuge to a graveyard, such is the ubiquity of human remains there.





Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge


4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Convicted for leaving water for migrants in the desert -- this is Trump's justice (Original Post) dalton99a Jan 2019 OP
Waiting for the Fox News Report CHRISTIAN ACTIONS UNDER ATTACK! underpants Jan 2019 #1
I like teddy bears. Igel Jan 2019 #2
That looks some pretty inhospitable territory. Haggis for Breakfast Jan 2019 #3
Plastic litter there for hundreds of years? MichMan Jan 2019 #4

underpants

(183,046 posts)
1. Waiting for the Fox News Report CHRISTIAN ACTIONS UNDER ATTACK!
Sun Jan 27, 2019, 09:48 PM
Jan 2019

I know you can do this with a pic but the rule of thumb I've always understood for water is bend over and look between you legs to get an idea of the true distance.

That's a serious hike to anything that hints of cover.

Igel

(35,390 posts)
2. I like teddy bears.
Sun Jan 27, 2019, 09:53 PM
Jan 2019

Well, teddy bear chollas, at least. I'd have them growing under every window if they'd grow here.


These folk, though, weren't convicted for helping "migrants."

They were convicted for entering a federal wildlife preserve without a permit, operating a vehicle off road, and "abandonment of property."

I get the first two. Regulations are there to protect the environment, and off-roading can wreak havoc on desert soil structures that may take centuries to recover. It's bad enough with people tramping around in there.

Still, I found that last one a bit obscure, but there it is: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/50/27.93

I suspect it's what you use when you catch people dumping their crap on protected federal land. Perhaps "littering," but since there's a word for that I'll understand it to mean larger things, not Twizzler packaging.

They weren't convicted for helping, per se.

Haggis for Breakfast

(6,831 posts)
3. That looks some pretty inhospitable territory.
Sun Jan 27, 2019, 10:20 PM
Jan 2019

I fail to see how leaving bottles of water is a crime. We all know that it takes hundreds of years for plastic to decompose, so how is this a crime ?

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»Convicted for leaving wat...