Four women who left jugs of water and cans of beans in the Arizona desert for migrants have just been sentenced by a federal judge. The women each received 15 months probation along with $250 fines.
Crossing parts of the United States’ border with Mexico can be extremely dangerous. According to the US Border Patrol, 294 migrants died crossing the border in 2017 alone, with dehydration among the leading causes of death.
The four women were volunteers with the group No More Deaths, which is dedicated to saving lives of migrants making the border crossing. Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick were charged with various offenses including operating a vehicle without a permit at the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, entering a wildlife refuge without a permit and abandonment of property.
In a statement, Huse said, “The border crisis in this country is a matter of life and death. History will not favor those on the wrong side of it. Our border policy continues to push people into remote and dangerous parts of the desert.”
