Border Patrol arrests 4 migrants at Arizona desert aid camp

BrieAnna J. Frank | The Republic | azcentral.com

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U.S. Border Patrol officers on Thursday arrested four people at a non-profit medical aid camp that was established to prevent the deaths of migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border into Arizona's desert, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed.

The camp in Arivaca, northwest of Nogales and about 11 miles north of the Mexican border, was set up by No More Deaths, a non-profit humanitarian organization established in 2004 that says its mission is to "end death and suffering" on the border. The camp offers medical aid and water to migrants crossing the border.

The organization said on Twitter that around 30 armed agents entered the camp with 15 trucks, two quads and a helicopter to detain the migrants Thursday.

"The raid on the medical aid camp is unacceptable and a break in our good faith agreements w/BP to respect the critical work of #NoMoreDeaths," the organization said in a tweet.

The choice to interdict people only after they entered the #NoMoreDeaths camp is evidence that this was a direct attack on humanitarian aid pic.twitter.com/WIKDGKkUig — No More Deaths (@NoMoreDeaths) June 16, 2017

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on its Arizona Twitter account, confirmed that four people from Mexico were detained at the camp. The tweet did not say how many agents arrived at the site.

Nogales #CBP #USBP agents serve warrant and arrest 4 at No More Deaths camp in Arivaca, Arizona #HonorFirst pic.twitter.com/uw5Eg6MXQB — CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) June 16, 2017

The U.S. Border Patrol responded to the incident on its Twitter account by citing a specific federal law, adding that "crossing the border illegally is a crime punishable by law.''

If agents observe people illegally crossing the border, the migrants can be arrested "on site," the agency said.

If the crossing is not observed but probable cause exists, a warrant must be obtained first, the agency said in a tweet.

Feds warn of dangers of summer heat

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, also released a statement warning of the extreme dangers of crossing the desert in the summer heat, stating that it's "physically impossible for the average person to carry sufficient water to avoid life-threatening dehydration during the course of several days in the desert."

The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat advisory for much of southern and central Arizona beginning Saturday and continuing through next Wednesday. It is predicting temperatures could reach 120 degrees in some desert areas of Arizona, including Phoenix, by early next week.

In its statement, Customs and Border Protection added that the lack of infrastructure in the desert makes it difficult for those in the desert to quickly find help in an emergency situation.

Agents and resources are often reassigned to areas "known for an increase in the number of people who will need to be rescued," often people illegally crossing the border south of Ajo, the agency said.

Customs and Border Protection also said that the Tucson Sector Border Patrol employs more than 200 emergency medical technicians and more than 25 paramedics, but there's "no guarantee someone stranded in a remote area, for whatever reason, will be found in time to prevent the loss of life."

The Border Patrol, in a statement issued Thursday night, said agents saw the migrants walking north on a "known smuggling route" and then tracked them as they walked to the camp.

Agents from the Tucson Sector Border Patrol reached out to camp officials to resolve the matter "amicably," but the talks "were unsuccessful.''

Border Patrol officials then sought a warrant to speak to the migrants and later served it, determining the people were in the country illegally, the statement said.

The agency said it had negotiated in previous incidents to have other migrants surrendered' without incident.

A 'direct attack'

No More Deaths called Thursday's arrest a "direct attack on humanitarian aid."

The organization said Border Patrol agents had posted surveillance near the camp Wednesday, leading the organization to believe a raid was imminent.

In a statement issued Thursday night, No More Deaths called the action a breach of a longstanding agreement.

"Since 2013 the Tucson sector of the Border Patrol has had a written agreement with No More Deaths (NMD) that they will respect the NMD camp as a medical facility under the International Red Cross standards, which prohibit government interference with humanitarian aid centers,'' co-founder John Fife said in the statement.

"That agreement now has been violated by the Border Patrol under the most suspicious circumstances,'' he said, adding that the agency had tracked the group for miles, but only made arrests when they sought treatment at the No More Deaths location.

The organization urged its supporters to contact Border Patrol agencies to ask that they stop watching the camp's activities and refrain from targeting "humanitarian efforts" during the summer heat.

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