No More Deaths has gotten a decent amount of media attention over the last couple years following the Border PatroI’s raids and arrests. On top of that, in my week volunteering with the group I had a chance to hear firsthand from a few seasoned facilitators while on water drops and around the campfire.
Anecdotally, those individuals shared that the group used to have what could be called a tacit understanding with the Border Patrol: you do your work, we’ll do ours. Then, in 2017, any semblance of a relationship quickly deteriorated. Agents started to go beyond slashing water jugs. They began harassing aid workers in the field, raiding camps to make arrests, and pressing criminal charges in court.
If you’ve doubted what people mean when they say the U.S. has poured money and manpower into “militarizing” border enforcement, this footage of the Border Patrol raiding a No More Deaths camp will give you an idea. Note the many vehicles, a helicopter, a small battalion of armed men swarming around the nonprofit’s makeshift medical clinic… just to arrest two unarmed individuals who were receiving first aid.