By Manuel Rueda
March 21, 2013
The number of immigrants who die (click here) while they attempt to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border increased significantly in 2012, even though there seems to be a far smaller pool of people who are actually trying to make the risky crossing.
This awkward trend was highlighted in a report released on Tuesday by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), a think tank based in Arlington, Virginia.
NFAP argues that immigrants are trying to cross the border at "increasingly" remote and dangerous areas because law enforcement along the border has gotten tougher and the overall number of border patrol agents has increased.
In its report, which uses data collected by the Border Patrol, the organization says that deaths along the border went up by 27 percent in 2012...
I always thought is was a moral idea to let them get here and process them through to determine if they had a real reason to be here or if they should be deported to their homeland.
For as long as I can remember and that is a long time, I have read about efforts to stop the deaths along the border. If I recall I remember a Priest calling for humane treatment of those traveling to the USA, such as water stations. The reason this California Priest stated this, was to be sure they didn't die on their way to a place they believed to be a magnificent hope.
These efforts were known to me through our USA media reporting on the concern the citizens of the USA had regarding people dying at the border. Silly, I suppose. I mean they are automatically dehumanized for their illegal crossing. A punishment of death seems a little harsh to me.
September 04, 2010 12:00 am
A new U.S. Fish and Wildlife policy could open the door for more water stations on border public lands to aid illegal immigrants, but humanitarian groups will have to follow stringent rules.
A final compatibility determination released by the federal agency allows groups to request permits for stationary, 55-gallon water drums located near roads in already disturbed areas.
The regulations basically endorse the methods used for the last 10 years by Tucson-based Humane Borders, which has had three water tanks on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge but has been denied requests to put more on several occasions, including in October 2009.
Humane Borders founder Robin Hoover applauded the agency's decision.
"People ought to be applying for water stations across Southern Arizona right now," Hoover said. "You have a blueprint to do it."
Humanitarian groups put out water in an effort to save lives. Nearly 2,000 illegal borders crossers have been found dead in Arizona since 2001, and this year has been one of the worst yet....