General Info
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US District Court Upholds Conviction of Humanitarian |
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Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:57 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dan Millis (928) 821-0331 daytime or evening (Spanish/English)
March 26, 2009
Decision to be Appealed to 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco
Tucson, AZ- An appeal of a littering conviction was denied on March 19 after oral arguments were heard ten days before. Dan Millis, a volunteer with the border humanitarian aid group No More Deaths, has already filed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to contest the ruling.
Millis was issued the citation in February of 2008 while putting water on remote migrant trails in the southern Arizona desert. He and three other volunteers were confronted by law enforcement officers of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service while on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. The officers issued a littering citation despite the five milk crates full of trash that the volunteers had picked up.
Only two days before, Millis and one of the other three volunteers found the body of a 14 year old girl from El Salvador in the same border region. Those who were with her on her journey, including her 10 year old brother, say she was vomiting and ill, and could not keep up with the group. She had been missing for three weeks when the volunteers found her. She died of exposure.
In her ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Cindy Jorgenson stated, "the Court finds the water jugs, left in the refuge, constitute 'garbage...'"
"We have heard many stories from migrants who found our water just in the nick of time," stated Millis, "These people haven't had a clean drink of water in days. If they find drinking water, it's a godsend, not trash."
No More Deaths has been administering humanitarian aid to migrants in the deserts of southern Arizona since 2004. Their mission is to end the deaths and suffering along the U.S./Mexico border.
Millis is not the only No More Deaths volunteer facing criminal charges for humanitarian aid work. Walt Staton, another long time No More Deaths volunteer, was issued a littering citation under similar circumstances in December of 2008. He is scheduled to go to trial before a jury in June.
The citations of Millis and Staton are two of many recent examples of criminalization and harassment of humanitarian workers by federal authorities. In recent months, No More Deaths volunteers report being photographed, stalked and interrogated by heavily armed agents. In August, Border Patrol conducted an all-out raid on the No More Deaths desert camp near Arivaca, Arizona.
"We pick up trash, distribute food and water, and administer first aid to people who desperately need it," said Millis. "We are not criminals."
For more information, please visit www.nomoredeaths.org, write us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, or call (928) 821-0331.
Relevant News Stories:
Volunteer Leaves Water for Migrants in the Desert and Gets Ticketed for Littering [Utne Reader]
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