On Friday, December 4, the United States Government faces a choice—to penalize humanitarian aid or to uphold human rights.

No More Deaths volunteer Walt Staton is having a resentencing hearing, where he faces potential imprisonment for placing clean drinking water on migrant trails on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, a huge tract of public land near the U.S./Mexico border. For more information about Walt's case and the backdrop of criminalization against which it takes place, see the links below.

Please plan to attend the events on Friday and Saturday, or host solidarity events in your community:

Rally/vigil and hearing:
Friday, December 4, 12:30 pm (rally/vigil), 3:00 pm (hearing)
Evo DeConcini Federal Courthouse, 405 W. Congress (at Granada)

Carpool at 8:00 am from:
Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 W. 23rd St. (between 9th Ave. and 10th Ave.)

For more information:

• Walt Staton's request for re-sentencing. Letter to Judge Jennifer Guerin dated Nov. 2, 2009, giving Walt's reasons for requesting a new hearing.
• Background on the Dec. 4 re-sentencing.
• Statement in court by Walt Staton, August 11, 2009.
• Sentencing Memorandum prepared by the US Attorney's office. Dated July 31, 2009.
• Humanitarian Convicted of “Littering” Sentenced to Community Service, Banned from Refuge. Press release dated August 12, 2009.
• Other related documents.
• Press releases.

On August 11, 2009 Walt Staton, a volunteer with the humanitarian group No More Deaths, was sentenced in federal Court to 300 hours of community service and 1 year unsupervised probation, for leaving 1-gallon jugs of clean drinking water along known migrant trails in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR), several miles north of the U.S./Mexico border.  Mr. Staton was the second humanitarian convicted on “littering” charges for providing water to migrants in need.  He has written to Judge Jennifer Guerin to inform the court he will not be completing the sentence of 300 hours of community service.  In his letter to the judge, he states his belief that the United States is in violation of international human rights law.  "The simple truth is that US border enforcement strategy intentionally leads to the suffering and death of migrants - a clear violation of human rights...."

On July 9, 2009 13 additional humanitarians from a coalition of organizations were cited by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers for the same act.  These groups had attempted for weeks, without success, to arrange a meeting with BANWR officials to develop a cooperative way of addressing the human rights crisis on federal lands; for years, representatives of BANWR have refused to grant permission to humanitarian efforts on the refuge.  On July 10th, the day after the 13 citations, No More Deaths received an invitation to meet with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar in Washington, D.C.  Since meeting with the Secretary, No More Deaths and Samaritans have held a series of meetings with BANWR manager Mike Hawkes and regional U.S. Fish and Wildlife director Chris Pease.

No More Deaths continues to negotiate in good faith with BANWR officials to facilitate humanitarian aid on public lands.  We call upon the Department of the Interior to adopt a Memorandum of Understanding proposed by No More Deaths and Samaritans that would help to alleviate the human rights catastrophe occurring on our public lands.

The “Tucson 13” will be tried in federal Court on January 9, 2010.