A migrant rescue nonprofit is criticizing the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector. The group No More Deaths says agents are destroying water and first-aid supplies left in remote desert areas for immigrants.
To illustrate their point, the group held a news conference yesterday at one of the water stations they claim has been vandalized by Border Patrol.
"The only actor with the kind of extensive manpower and access to these land jurisdictions is Border Patrol," said Kate Morgan, one of the organizers.
"The action of a few agents does not represent the whole," said Christopher Sullivan, a spokesperson for the Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol.
There have been valid reports of rogue agents vandalizing water stations, he said.
"I believe there are a majority of agents that will go out there — work in the cold weather, work in the hot weather — to rescue people that they don't even know because they are decent human beings," Sullivan said.
No More Deaths organizers said they concede that the majority of Border Patrol agents are decent people, but they maintain that even one rogue agent is too many because, they say, lives are at stake.
Additional Interview with Stephanie Dixon, Tucson Sector Border Patrol Communications Office.
No More Deaths' full report.
Video of Border Patrol agents vandalizing water stations