Press Release on Migrant Deaths

Some things require no commentary, like this press release from Derechos Humanos:

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For Immediate Release

August 23, 2006

38 Migrant Deaths in July Brings Arizona Death Toll to 171

The deaths of at least 38 migrants in the month of July on the Arizona-Sonora border bring the official migrant death count to 171 known deaths for the fiscal year. The count, which includes numbers compiled from Pima, Yuma and Cochise Counties, includes the deaths of three children, ages 16, 12, and 11, during the month of July. To date, there have been 8 deaths of children since the fiscal year began on October 1st, ages ranging from 1 to 16.

“The continued rise in the deaths of children and women is alarming, and speaks of the incredible desperation and love” says Dulce Ruelas of Derechos Humanos. “We talk about family values—these are people who risk everything to keep the family unit together. To them, there is nothing of greater value than family.”

As immigration and border security continue to be hot issues debated in Washington, D.C., the border communities on which these failed policies are unleashed continue to suffer the trauma of dealing with hundreds of deaths each year, an increased vigilance of law enforcement, and a growing strain as xenophobic and racist rhetoric is given regular play in the debate. The creation of a space for meaningful dialogue is vital to ending the deaths and creating change on the border.

As a non-profit human rights organization that seeks to bring change and justice to the border, Coalición de Derechos Humanos calls upon all friends, allies, and people of conscience to stand together and demand that our leaders put an end to border deaths by implementing immigration reform that addresses the issue of migration and immediately demilitarizing our borders. As we have witnessed for more than a decade, and as the increasing loss of human life serves to attest, the current border and immigration policies have failed us in our communities, and have failed in their obligations to humanity.

The list of migrant deaths is available to the community on the Derechos Humanos website: www.derechoshumanosaz.net. This information is available to anyone who requests it from us and is used by our organization to further raise awareness of the human rights crisis we are facing on our borders.

For more information, please contact Kat Rodriguez at Derechos Humanos: 520.770.1373.