TUCSON — The trial of four of nine humanitarian aid volunteers facing criminal charges for dropping off food and water intended for migrants trekking the deadly Arizona desert is now underway in Tucson federal court.

The four women, all volunteers with the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, face misdemeanor charges for operating a vehicle in a restricted area, not having a permit and for abandoning personal property inside the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Arizona.

The citations stemmed from an encounter on Aug.13, 2017, with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officer as the volunteers planned to drop off one-gallon plastic water jugs and canned beans in a protected wilderness area west of Ajo.

The location is near the site where three migrants who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border a few weeks earlier had gotten lost. One of them has never been found, defense attorneys for the volunteers said in court Tuesday.

The case before U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco in Tucson is significant because, in the past, charges against humanitarian aid volunteers mostly had been dismissed.

It's also the first such trial during President Donald Trump's administration, which has pursued stricter enforcement measures at the border.

No More Deaths volunteers targeted?

The trial against No More Deaths volunteers Natalia Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick is expected to move quickly.

On Tuesday, after opening statements, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona called their two witnesses to the stand. Both are U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers stationed at Cabeza Prieta.

They sought to establish that the volunteers had violated several regulations governing the refuge, including driving in restricted sensitive areas where only law enforcement is allowed.

One of the officers also testified that none of the four women on trial had filed the necessary permits required to access the area.

After they rested their case, defense attorneys for the four women called two of their witnesses, including John Fife, a retired pastor who led the sanctuary movement in Tucson in the 1980s and a founder of No More Deaths.

During the questioning, defense attorneys focused on the religious and humanitarian mission of the organization to deliver humanitarian aid to prevent more migrant deaths.

Attorneys claimed their clients were being charged even though the U.S. Attorney's Office had allegedly said weeks before the incident that they were not interested in prosecuting these types of cases.

Under cross-examination, Brian Krukoski, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife senior officer, said he had received guidance about how to treat No More Deaths volunteers after the August incident.

He testified that he was told to direct any volunteer who inquired about a permit to his supervisor.

Krukoski also talked about a possible "do not issue" list for some No More Deaths volunteers.

But after questioning from prosecutors, he clarified that those instructions from the U.S. Attorney's Office were part of the pretrial release conditions that pertained only to the individuals on trial.

Total of nine volunteers cited

Before the start of the trial, dozens of No More Death volunteers and humanitarian aid advocates rallied in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Tucson. Then they headed inside, packing the courtroom.

Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler, the spokesperson for the organization, said the group wanted to show support.

The group is hopeful that the right to provide humanitarian aid is affirmed in court, she said.

"We are out there because there's a need and the need is not going to change dependent on ... the legality of our right to provide aid," Orlovsky-Schnitzler added.

Nine volunteers — dubbed the "Cabeza 9" by the group — received citations in the mail for their role in dropping off water and food for migrants in Cabeza Prieta.

But not all face the same charges, which is why they will appear before the court on separate dates.

Among the nine volunteers cited is Scott Warren, who also is facing a separate felony trial on charges of harboring undocumented immigrants, following his arrest in Ajo in February 2018.

"(Cabeza Prieta) is still one of the deadliest corridors for migrant movement," Orlovsky-Schnitzler said. "Everyone has a right to safe passage and we hope that that's held up in court."

Over the weekend, volunteers with No More Deaths put up campaign-style signs around Tucson reading "Humanitarian aid is never a crime, drop the charges.

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