Final Count for Recovered Bodies on the Arizona- Sonora Border 237 as Border Patrol Continues to Report Decreases in Crossings(10/11/07)
Arizona— The final number of bodies recovered on the Arizona-Sonora border for the fiscal year that began on October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007 is 237, reports Coalición de Derechos Humanos.  The data, which is compiled from medical examiner reports from Pima, Yuma, and Cochise counties, is an attempt to give a more accurate reflection of the human cost of failed U.S. border and immigration policies.  The final count includes 181 males, 51 females, 5 of unknown gender, and approximately 39% unknown identity.  Countries represented in the final count include México, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador. Click to read the document



Arizona Recovered Body Count Reaches 199 as the Department of Homeland Security Announces Plans to Increase and Expand Deadly Border Strategy (8/14/07)
Arizona— The number of bodies recovered on the Arizona-Sonora border has reached 199 by the end of July 2007 according to data compiled by the Coalición de Derechos Humanos, a Tucson-based human rights group that works to raise awareness about the deadly effects of border militarization.  Fifty-two bodies were recovered in the month of July alone, ensuring that last year’s total of 205 will surely be passed within the month of August.  Of the 52 bodies recovered in July, 36 were male, 15 female, and one whose sex is unknown because not enough of the body was recovered.  With two months left in the fiscal year, the Arizona-Sonora border promises to be one of the deadliest ever recorded.  Click to read the document

 

147 bodies recovered on Arizona border, 33 in June alone; Mounting enforcement causing more migrants to go missing and die (7/13/07)
Arizona— Coalición de Derechos Humanos, a Tucson-based human rights group, announced that the total number of recovered bodies on the Arizona border reached 147 by the end of June, 2007, up from 133 at the same time last year.  Thirty-three bodies were recovered in the month of June alone, twelve of them not as yet identified and nearly a third of them female.  These numbers do not reflect any of the 24 bodies recovered in first twelve days of the month of July, with reports coming out almost daily about remains found in the desert by residents, humanitarian groups and law enforcement officials alike. Click to read the document

 

GOVERNOR NAPOLITANO BOWS TO ANTI-IMMIGRANT FORCES, SIGNALLING RIZONA'S WILLINGNESS TO SACRIFICE THE HEALTH OF COMMUNITIES (7/6/07)
TUCSON - Beginning in January, 2008, the State of Arizona will enforce the toughest employer sanctions in the country, according to Governor Janet Napolitano.  HB 2779 will punish Arizona businesses with a suspension or revocation of their business license, requiring Arizona employers to use the federal government’s Basic Pilot Program (BPP) to verify employment authorization.  In an accompanying letter issued on the same day to U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senator Harry Reid, Governor Napolitano announced her action and blamed the Congress’ failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform. Click to read the document

  

 Arizona— Since the start of the fiscal year, which began on October 1, 2006, through the end of May, 2007, at least 114 bodies have been recovered on the Arizona/Sonora border, an increase from 99 at the same time last year.  These numbers do not reflect the discovery of six bodies in early June, the seven bodies found this past weekend, nor those reported by recent crossers. Click to read the document

 

Coalición de Derechos Humanos Opposes Repressive Senate Immigration Compromise (5/23/07)
Costly and draconian proposal offers major defense and prison contractors billions of dollars to dramatically intensify and privatize border and interior enforcement, will increase migrant deaths, separates families, and expands the exploitation of temporary workers, without offering any meaningful lawful status to immigrants, nor solutions to the issue of migration 

Click to read the document  

 

Human rights organization Coalición de Derechos Humanos (DH), joins immigrant rights groups across the country to call on the U.S. Congress to stop the deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border, demilitarize border communities, end the privatization of border and immigration enforcement, oppose new guest worker programs and support reunification of families and legalization with full rights for all. Click to read the document 

 

Palestinian Delegation joins in “Wall-to-Wall Solidarity” at US-Mexico Border to call for demilitarization of communities (02/28/07)
Local human rights organizations, Coalición de Derechos Humanos and Middle East Justice Now, will join a Palestinian delegation of activists from the West Bank to call for the dismantling of all walls between peoples and the demilitarization of communities everywhere. Click to read the document

 

27 Migrant Deaths Reported as Arizona Enters a Historical Cold Spell (1/23/07)
Arizona—The number of migrant deaths recovered since the fiscal year began on October 1, 2006 has reached twenty-seven, up from twenty-four this same time last year, as Arizona enters an historical cold spell that has resulted in snow and freezing temperatures in many areas along the border.Click to read the document  

 

Community Demands Impartial Investigation of Latest Shooting and Border Patrol Policies for Use of Lethal Force (1/17/07)
Community organization demand an independent investigation into the shooting and killing of Francisco Javier Dominguez by U.S. Border Patrol. Click to read the document

 

The Derechos Humanos perspective on immigration and border reform. Click to read the document 

 

Comunidades Sin Fronteras: Lucha y Esperanza
Communities Without Borders: Struggle and Hope (12/2006)
Derechos Humanos celebrate International Human Rights Day and International Day of the Migrant. Click to read the document

Día de los Muertos Pilgrimage Honors the 205 Lives Lost on the Arizona-Sonora Border (11/1/06)
Sixth annual 8-mile Día de los Muertos Pilgrimage from St. John’s Church to San Xavier Misión to honor those that have lost their lives on the border. Click to read the document

Community Organizations to Hold a Public Hearing on the Impact of Border Militarization (8/17/06)
Community public panel, presided over by Congressman Raúl Grijalva and other community leaders, receive testimony about the impact of border and immigration enforcement strategies. Click to read the document

U.S. Teenager’s Death Nine Years Ago Illustrates the Danger of Border Militarization (5/19/06)
Nine years after the murder of 18-year old -Ezequiel Hernandez, Jr. by U.S. Marines in Redford, Texas, news comes that 6,000 National Guard troops are to be deployed on the border. Click to read the document

Community Decries Tucson Police Department Racial Profiling Actions(11/18/05)
Derechos Humanos condemns the sweep done by U.S. Border Patrol with the assistance and collaboration of Tucson Police.  Click to read the document

U.S. Border Patrol Unconscionable Obstruction of Humanitarian Aid (7/11/05)
The Coalición de Derechos Humanos/Alianza Indígena Sin Fronteras is outraged by the recent arrests of two No More Deaths volunteers as they evacuated three migrants in need of emergency medical attention. Click to read the document

Community Demands Answers to Shooting by Border Patrol Agent (10/18/04)
Derechos Humanos demands an investigation into the shooting and killing of 21-year old Jose Juan Rodriguez by a Border agent. Click to read the document

End the Deaths in the Desert, 200th Community Vigil (4/8/04)
A community call for an end to the deaths in the desert on the 200th vigil at El Tiradito Shrine.  Click to read the document

Violence on the Border (2/25/04) 
A testimony to the growing violence being witnessed on the Arizona-Sonora border.  Click to read the document

Position Statement on the Southwest Border Situation (2/20/04)
A statement on the current state of affairs in the southwest Click to read the document

Protest Operation Lateral Repatriation! (9/12/03)
Lateral repatriation, a policy aimed at deporting migrants through other ports of entry, will put people more at risk, specifically women and children.  Click to read the document

 

U.S. Border Patrol Shooting Illustrates Problem with Internal Investigations  (6/6/03)
Derechos Humanos calls for a full investigation by an independent entity of the incident on Wednesday resulting in a U.S. Border Patrol agent killing a suspected undocumented migrant. The continued use of deadly force in this manner, which goes unchecked, must stop, and a full investigation into this and similar incidents be conducted. Click to read the full document

Government Official's Shocking Lack of Respect (9/13/02)
Statement on Cochise County officials shocking mistreatment of the body of a woman found on the border.  Click to read the document