Deterrence efforts at Arizona-Mexico border rise, but so do deaths

Published: 2007-10-09

ARIVACA, Ariz. (CNS) -- After an immigration reform bill stalled in Congress in June, experts predict that it may take another two years before any meaningful attempts at fixing the situation will see the light of day. Meanwhile, families remain divided, and lives continue to be lost in the desert. If you ask people working in the desert, they'll tell you that water can be deadly. Water makes puddles. Puddles make soggy socks. Soggy socks make for nasty blisters that you can't walk on. For people crossing the desert, this kind of blister will get them left behind in a hurry. "Rains make this time of year more dangerous," said Joe Shortall from Los Angeles, volunteering with No More Deaths, a humanitarian group that patrols the Arizona desert looking for illegal immigrants left behind by smugglers. Rainfall and sweltering heat made crossing the Sonoran Desert as dangerous as ever for illegal immigrants this summer. The U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson sector reported finding 186 bodies so far this year, 26 more than at the same time last year.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .