No More Deaths is a humanitarian aid organization that works to end the death and suffering of migrants crossing the US/Mexico border in Arizona. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson adopted No More Deaths as a ministry in the summer of 2008.

Background:
Since the US entered into the North American Free Trade agreement with Mexico and Canada in 1994, economic forces created conditions that displaced many poorer people in Mexico. People began moving to cities looking for work and a higher quality of life, but often found factory jobs that pay very little while city life was more expensive.

Although anticipating an increase of economic refugees looking for work in America, the US did not modify its immigration policies to allow for more workers and families to immigrate legally. Instead, the US government began building walls and hiring more border patrol agents soon after NAFTA was signed. The increased border security made crossing near the metropolitan areas of El Paso, Nogales and San Diego very difficult, so migrants began trekking through more hostile lands.

While the US ramped up its defenses of the border, the desperation of people looking to improve their quality of life outweighed the dangers of crossing deserts, mountains and canals. U.S.-Mexico border deaths went from 87 in 1996 to over 500 in 2005 – and those are just the ones we know about.

No More Deaths formed in 2004 on the heels of two other humanitarian groups in Southern Arizona: Human Borders and the Samaritans, all of which draw from the legacy and support of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s (which many UU congregations were involved with).

Current Projects:
No More Deaths is a volunteer-based group that divides its energy into three main projects: Coordinating camps and supply routes to deliver food, water and medical care to migrants in the desert; coordinating and funding aid stations on the border to receive and treat migrants who are repatriated to Mexico by Border Patrol; and to document human rights abuses of migrants in US custody and push for standards and oversight in the Department of Homeland Security.

During the hottest months of summer, No More Deaths recruits and trains volunteers to staff camps in the desert along the US/Mexico border. Volunteers embark on daily patrols to look for people who are lost, injured or left behind. Camp coordinators are trained volunteers certified as Wilderness First Responders or above who work to keep the camps running smoothly. During the winter, volunteers cover supply drop routes where gallon jugs of water and food items are left in caches along active migrant trails.

In 2006, No More Deaths began working to open a migrant resource center in Agua Prieta and an aid station in Nogales. Soon after, a third resource center opened in the border town of Naco. All three sites receive migrants who are dumped off by the US and sent back to Mexico. Many receive inadequate food and water while in detention, and very few receive needed medical care. Volunteers provide first aid, warm meals and emotional comfort to as many as 2,000 people per day. NMD has created many partnerships to assist migrants with finding shelter, paying for tickets to return home, and reuniting with family members separated while in detention.

Shortly after the border aid stations opened, NMD began hearing testimonies of human rights abuses by Border Patrol and other privatized agencies used to transport, detain and process migrants. Working with other immigrant rights groups and government agencies, NMD started a project to document migrants’ stories. While this process is ongoing, a report was published in the fall of 2008 outlining the nature of the abuses: “Crossing the Line: Human Rights Abuses of Migrants in Short Term Custody on the Arizona/Sonora Border.” Volunteers are using this report to launch a campaign to have enforceable standards and oversight implemented in the Department of Homeland Security governing short-term custody.

Needs and UU Involvement
Shortly after the UU Church of Tucson adopted No More Deaths as a ministry, the congregation started getting involved. The YRUU group, along with the president of the board of trustees, spent four days camping and volunteering at the Arivaca desert aid camp. The church has helped with material and financial donations, and church members set up a donation center at the University of Arizona. Rev. Diane Dowgiert spent a day touring the desert camp, visiting a shrine where NMD volunteers discovered the body of a 14-year-old Salvadorian girl in February, 2008.

Around the country, UU congregations have mailed in boxes of donations of clothing items. Many individual UUs have traveled to Tucson to volunteer with NMD, spending a week or more at the different project sites. And the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy has helped promote No More Deaths and the human rights abuse report.

There is much work to be done on the border and in communities across the US, where immigration raids, xenophobic policy and job-site exploitation cause our recently-arrived brothers and sisters to live their lives in fear and in the shadows. We hope that the UU Church of Tucson with its ministry of humanitarian aid with No More Deaths serves as a model and inspiration for other UUs to take action on this issue.

For more information on No More Deaths, including how to volunteer and donate, visit NoMoreDeaths.org.