Tucson man faces prison for leaving water jugs along border

[Ptah]

Source: Arizona Daily Star

A Tucson man convicted of littering on federal land said he will continue to leave
water out for illegal immigrants walking through the desert, even if that means
risking further citations.

“We’re committed to our humanitarian efforts,” said 27-year-old Walt Staton,
who was found guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court of knowingly littering
on a national wildlife refuge.

“We’re not asking permission from the United State to save people’s lives.
We never have, because we know they’d say no.”

Staton, a Web designer and volunteer with humanitarian group No More Deaths,
was cited Dec. 4 for littering when U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted him placing
unopened gallon containers of water in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
southwest of Tucson.

Staton faces up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine when he is sentenced
Aug. 11 by U.S. District Magistrate Judge Jennifer Guerin.


Read more: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/295612.php

[mikita]

1. it leaves one speechless

that he should be convicted and banksters go free. I am SO depressed.

[Xipe Totec]

2. They better have an ironclad definition of littering

that includes full bottles of potable water.

Otherwise, it's not littering; just abandoned property.

[happyslug]

38. Strict Definition in a "National Wildlife Refuge"?

This is FEDERAL land so FEDERAL law controls

16 USC Sec. 668dd. National Wildlife Refuge System

16 USC Sec. 668dd (f) Penalties

(1) Knowing violations

Any person who knowingly violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations issued thereunder shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.

http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t13t16+6052+78++(%27Wildlife%20Refuge%27)

Notice the US Code clearly makes any violation of any REGULATION issued in regards to Federal Wildlife Refuge a criminal act.

Thus 50 Code of Federal Regulation comes into play, especially 50 CFR §27.92:

§ 27.93 Abandonment of property.
Abandoning, discarding, or otherwise leaving any personal property in any national wildlife refuge is prohibited.

Thus all the Feds have to show is he left the water jugs on the property of the Refuge and can fine him as permitted under the Federal Criminal Code (Title 18) or jail him for up to one year.

[Xipe Totec]

48. You have to prove it was abandoned n/t

[happyslug]

75. What part of "or otherwise leaving any personal property" don't you understand?

Notice "abandoning" is only ONE type of forbidden way to leave items in the Refuge, but it is NOT the only way and NOT required under the concept of "otherwise leaving any personal property" in the Refuge.

[damntexdem]

86. He was placing. Do they have proof that he was leaving?

In any case, good on him for doing it!

[Deja Q]

3. Ambivalence - looking from the outside in:

My point being, who would get the water? The poor or the guards or who?

In a humane line?

In a big violent rush?

Might someone of foul intent poison the water?

I think the fees and prison time might be severe, but there are other perspectives -- and official charities that he, knowing that the internet exists and all, could look up the veracity of various humanitarian organizations...

[Ptah]

5. The water is for people crossing the desert from Mexico to USA

The veracity of No More Deaths can be found on your internets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_More_Deaths

No More Deaths is an advocacy group based in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, USA
that seeks to end the deaths of migrants crossing the desert regions near
the United States-Mexico border. Volunteers for the organization provide
food, water, and medical aid to undocumented immigrants in the desert and
offer humanitarian aid to people in Mexico who have been deported from the US.

[EFerrari]

7. No. This is for those people whose roasted bodies are found in the desert.

He's right.

[WriteDown]

23. Wonder why they call it litter...

Oh, that's right....

[EFerrari]

28. Alien garbage? You sure do visit the most interesting places. n/t

[WriteDown]

40. Just google...

illegal immigrant litter. You can take your choice of sites. The sentence is way extreme, but I have no problem with the charge since I prefer for ANY sort of junk not be left in National Parks.

[EFerrari]

46. You should send that in to Lou Dobbs. Even he hasn't used that one yet. n/t

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

49. Indeed. The outlandishness of that particular mental gyration was worthy of the worst pundits.

Impressive. Are we looking at the birth of the next Michael Savage? Or just a one-hit wonder? Only time will tell.

[No Elephants]

78. From litter, you can tell who left it and whether he or she had documents or not? Who is doing

these miraculous forensics on litter?

[damntexdem]

88. So, you prefer dead bodies in the parks?

How very environmentally-friendly of you.

[Gormy Cuss]

104. So because illegal immigrants leave litter behind they should be allowed to dehydrate?

I guess that sort of argument flies at moonbattery.com, the source of the photo you posted.


On edit: And another thing: not all Federal land is in National PARKS or other such pristine areas.

[proud2BlibKansan]

111. So these human beings deserve to die because they leave litter on our land?

Shit. What do you propose we do about real crimes like car theft? Firing squads? How about public flogging for speeders?

[ProudDad]

59. No, here are pictures of the "litter"

that this good man and many others are trying to ELIMINATE!

http://www.bordermovie.com/gruesome-corpses-document-the-death-toll-of-americas-immigration-war-not-for-the-weak-of-stomach/

WARNING: pictures on this site are not for those with weak stomachs...


This is a matter of LIFE AND DEATH of innocent people with great courage and initiative trying to survive in the USAmerican/Mexican Oligarchic capitalist economic machine!

Litter! :mad:

[No Elephants]

77. Where are the water bottles in that photo?

[ArbustoBuster]

96. WriteDown, you're being inhumane.

You're also creating guilt by association, and you're sticking your fingers in your ears and going LA LA LA CAN'T HEAR YOU when several posters have attempted to point this out to you.

You're not giving me a high opinion of your intellect, to be honest.

[alstephenson]

12. Huh? eom

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

45. Guilt by association, although the poster pathetically denies it. -nt

[UndertheOcean]

18. huh ?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

67. you should just admit you are a xenophobe and stop pretending that there is

a huge rationale to it.

[damntexdem]

87. Someone with foul intent arrested him.

And another bunch prosecuted him.

[goddess40]

4. unbelievable

Isn't a $10,000 fine and a year in prison a little extreme for littering? Are there any previous cases for littering with these penalties? What if the man said he would go and pick up the jugs after they were empty? Arizona, like Texas, another state to stay out of.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. Of course, it isn't for littering. It's for being nice to the inferiors.

:mad:

[WriteDown]

24. Who would call this littering?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. Did the water-dispensing man leave those? -nt

[ronnie624]

36. I think the implication is

that illegal immigrants left the items in the photograph, therefore the water dispenser is somehow guilty by association for helping them in their dire need.

I think that's the point. Often, rightist logic can be rather circuitous and vague.

[WriteDown]

39. No, the point is...

Any sort of garbage left in a NATIONAL park is littering. Sentence is extreme, but I have no problem with anybody being charged after leaving junk in National Parks.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

41. So, the photo is a non sequitur.

A couple gallons of water left neatly someplace in the middle of the desert don't look nearly as ugly, so you had to post that photo.

That's like posting a photo of Hiroshima after the bombing to point out that graffiti shouldn't be tolerated.

[WriteDown]

43. No, the photo was to demonstrate the damage...

being done to our deserts due to their crossing and it is not something that should be encouraged.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

47. Why stop at forbidding saving their lives?

Let's landmine the whole area, shall we? Then the oh-so-patriotic-and-rugged Minutemen and their sympathizers could have wholesome all-American fun betting on how many corpses go flying in the air in a week. (Not that it's certain they're not doing something like that already with the heat factor. But, you know, explosions are more fun. And more American.)

[WriteDown]

50. You should offer your house as a safe-haven for newly...

arriving illegal immigrants if you feel so strongly about it. There is another solution if you do not want to die in the desert though. Don't try to cross the desert.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

51. ONE: Yes I would, and I would spit on your face when you come to arrest me.

But I don't live there.

TWO: By your logic, paramedics shouldn't try to save the lives of bike riders who crashed while not wearing helmets. They should be just left to bleed to death on the pavement.

[WriteDown]

53. You don't live where there are illegal immigrants?

What sheltered land do you hail from?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

55. I mean I don't live in a dangerous area in which people may die just by trying to walk through.

But, of course, you knew that already. I don't think you're an idiot, you play one when you think it's goint to help you derail your opponent's argument.

But that won't fly with me. I see bullshit, I call it.

[WriteDown]

58. Once again....

the solution is just NOT to walk through the desert. I live in a "hispanic" neighborhood in Dallas and I know a thing or two about illegal immigrants. Since occupancy laws are not enforced, my neighborhood is filled with houses with 5 or 6 cars out front and way too many people inside. This is a country wide problem where illegal immigration is prevalent so you could easily take in a family if you wanted.

[ProudDad]

61. So basically it's racism speaking (n/t)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

65. Did you read what I said about bike riders without helmets?

When they crack their skull, it's definitely their fault. Do you think they should be denied treatment?

[WriteDown]

66. Is riding bikes against federal law? nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

70. Without a helmet? Against SOME law, certainly, either federal or (more probably) state.

Why did you excise the "without a helmet" qualifier and then asked that question?

[WriteDown]

71. Does the US give out helmets before each bike accident? nt

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

72. What is that supposed to correspond to in the immigrant situation?

The man leaving water? No, he's a private citizen, doing that voluntarily. What then?

[WriteDown]

74. In a national park...

which is littering. I do not approve of the sentence, but do not want plastic junk left in our national parks.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

82. I also don't want retentions in traffic due to paramedics tending to dumb bikers.

If they had a helmet on, many of them could stand up, walk, cry about the wrecked bike, and leave. Instead, their carelessness creates a burden for society.

But I still want them properly treated by paramedics, traffic jam and all, because I am not a pathologically empathy-deprived jerkwad.

[WriteDown]

83. Paramedics attending to someone regardless of the

situation is not against the law. Literring is against the law in all circumstances and so coincidentally is illegal immigration. Thus the whole "illegal" part.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

84. Laws can be wrong, But in this case I don't even think it's the law that was wrong.

It's its exceedingly elastic interpretation by bigoted judges/prosecutors/whatever.

[WriteDown]

97. No ,actually its a very strict interpretation...

The sentencing is ridiculous though unless there are more facts to the case.

[alstephenson]

102. Um, who gives a shit what you want?

Not me. Seems I'm not alone around here...

[damntexdem]

91. No, nor does it give out water to those trying to survive the desert.

Only this hero is.

[WriteDown]

95. Leaving plastic water jugs in a national park

is against the law. And for good reason obviously.

[No Elephants]

107. What "good" reason?

[No Elephants]

81. As Commie Pinko said, there is a difference between living where illegal immigrants are

prevalent and living where they are dying of thirst in a border crossing. If anyone were around as they were dying, they would be begging for water. No one has begged me to take him or her into my home in NE, nor are they dying in the streets here.

[WriteDown]

98. And you know this how?

Considering that homeless and near homeless exist in every town. This seems impossible to quantify.

[No Elephants]

105. How do I know that no one has begged me for water? Your question doesn't make

sense. But, you needn't re-phrase because it's not on point anyway.

This thread is not about homelessness in the Northeast, or even about homelessness in the Northeast among undocumented aliens from Mexico. It is about getting arrested for leaving water for those undocumented immigrants crossing the border between Mexico and the U.S. because those immigrants have been dying for lack of water.

If it were up to me, I certainly would not let anyone die for lack of drinking water in a desert. ONor would I mind going back for the empty containers (and refilling them to leave again).

Even if some assholes insisted that I go to jail now and again for "littering, " just as I'd throw a life preserver to a drowning person, even if I got arrested for polluting the ocean.

No clue why you seem to enjoy posting views like that here. I wish you'd take them to a board where they are more likely to be appreciated.

[atreides1]

101. Then why don't you contact the authorities?

If laws are being violated and it's as obvious as you state, then shouldn't you be contacting the appropriate authorites so that the laws can be enforced?

Wouldn't it help clear up your neighborhood?

[No Elephants]

80. The water bearer is NOT encouraging crossing. He is leaving water for people who crossed for their

own reasons, never having heard of him before, so that they don't die of thirst. He did not leave a "please cross to the US" sign in Mexico. That would have been encouraging the crossing. The coyotes encourage the crossing.

Your photo is irrelevant to the water guy.

[damntexdem]

90. Hey, I'm all for a reasonable immigration policy that would see people cross at designated crossings

This is just the fall-out of ludicrous immigration policies.

[WriteDown]

99. We agree on this.

I am not for unlimited immigration obviously, but well regulated immigration works well. Unfortunately, the more you regulate something, the more illegal activity arises to circumvent that navigation.

[BeFree]

42. Guessing here...

...that it really makes you mad that air pollution in Parks continues pretty much unabated?

[WriteDown]

44. We used to have swaths of forest decimated by acid rain...

in Western NC. Always made me angry too.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

52. Your concern for the environment...

...doesn't fool anyone.

[WriteDown]

54. But your lack of concern for American jobs and sky high

unemployent is very telling. Let me guess, you also won't drive anything made by the UAW?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

56. Oh, of course, leaving water for people crossing desert = being in favor of unrestricted immigration

Makes a lot of sense.

Can you find a more stupid straw man?

Silly question. Of course you're up to the task.

[WriteDown]

57. Why not leave 4x4's so they can cross even easier?

I noticed you didn't answer my previous question. Telling.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

64. ONE: Because 4x4s aren't needed to save their lives, water is fine.

TWO: About driving? OK - I don't drive at all. You think that's relevant?

[WriteDown]

73. Ever try to cross the desert on foot even with a bottle

of water in hand? Still incredibly dangerous and likely to be met with death.

The only humane solution is to leave 4x4's or better yet have some sort of shuttle. A hovercraft would work well in that terrain.

Cool, I've tried for years to have no car, but I just can't pull it off. I build a lot though and am constantly transporting lumber .

[damntexdem]

92. Good idea! Will you fund it?

Of course, it would be better to welcome immigrants at regular border crossings.

[damntexdem]

93. It's so hard to tell. My Dodge could have been made by the UAW.

Or by the Canadian auto workers.

Of course now there won't be any more Dodges in my future.

[ProudDad]

60. READ THE ARTICLE

the man left jugs of WATER...to SAVE LIVES...not "GARBAGE"!


You're committing the most egregious of right-wing bullshit "arguments" by setting up your straw man.

Why don't you take it here -- they love this kind of sh*t: www.freerepublic.com

[No Elephants]

79. Saving lives versus littering? Well, we all have our priorities, I guess.

[damntexdem]

89. Federal penalty on federal property.

Although Arizona has plenty to answer for, as well -- still it's the feds who are guilty here.

[jmowreader]

6. I wonder why they called it littering

There's got to be some sort of Aiding and Abetting or Assisting Illegal Immigration charge they could have gotten him on. "Littering" sounds pretty lame.

[Ptah]

9. A long-standing border policy of the US government. With a pattern of prosecutions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_More_Deaths#Prosecution_of_No_More_Deaths_Volunteers

On July 9, 2005, two No More Deaths volunteers, Daniel Strauss and
Shanti Sellz, were arrested by a Border Patrol agent while transporting
three illegal immigrants from the Arivaca "Ark" to Tucson for
medical attention. The migrants were allegedly suffering from severe
thirst and hunger due to vomiting as well as blisters that prevented
them from walking. Sellz and Strauss were charged with transporting
illegal aliens and conspiring to transport illegal aliens, both felonies
under US federal law. If convicted, they would have each faced up to
15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.<7> Lawyers for the defendants
argued that the aid workers were not transporting the immigrants
"in furtherance" of their being in the country illegally, and therefore
were not guilty of smuggling. US Magistrate Bernardo P. Velasco
disagreed and refused to dismiss the case.<8>

More at link

[EFerrari]

11. Swine.

[MikeNearMcChord]

10. Not so surprised, hell the group Food Not Bombs which distributes

food to the homeless and other poor get harassed by the cops all the time.

[EFerrari]

14. Food Not Bombs was one of the orgs raided AHEAD of the RNC convention.

Law enforcement sure has some fucked up priorities in this country. Doctors get shot in church by guys the FBI won't bother to pick up but people leaving water out for lost people in the desert are charged. Sickening.

[classysassy]

13. "Its a mad,mad,mad world"

and we are leading the parade.

[Alcibiades]

15. I'm in favor of enforcing our immigration laws

so long as we are going to bother with borders. But this? So long as he cleans up any litter that's left after folks drink the water, what's the big deal?

[DaveinJapan]

16. This is so depressing...

Makes me sick!

So it's our unwritten policy to let those "people" die out there in the desert, and yet an abortion doctor gets killed for not respecting "the sanctity of life"?

What a fucking world.

[Duer 157099]

17. He probably didn't see "No Country For Old Men"

or he'd know that this sort of thing ends badly.

[UndertheOcean]

19. Must keep the U.S. white ....

~sarcasm~

[hootinholler]

20. "What were you arrested for, kid?" And I said, "Littering."

"And creating a nuisance."

A year is a bit heavy handed. I hope this goes high in the courts, humanitarian aid is not litter.

-Hoot

[Canuckistanian]

26. Did they have 8X10 color glossy photos with writing on the back?

That kind of evidence always puts these dastardly litterers behind bars.

[hootinholler]

31. Yeah but when they looke at teh judge's seeing eye dog...

They realized it was another case of American Blind Justice.

-Hoot

[Stuart G]

21. Question...what idiot arrested this person?

On December 4, who was President then??? What idiot gave an order to arrest this person?

[ProudDad]

62. The f*ckin' boarder patrol

He was lucky they didn't shoot him...

They routinely shoot immigrants and then the juries let them off...

[applegrove]

22. Wow. What a caring individual.

[azul]

25. The opposite of the minute men that would harass them until they died, for sport.

The wacky and wonderous land of kindness and cruelty.

I'm all for a presidential pardon in this case.



If the government does not want people dying crossing the border, and people driven to help them by empathy and a sense of what is right, then defy the farm and construction and walmart industries and close the damned border. What is more important, human life, or the bottom line for businesses? (And don't let the current supreme court attempt to answer.)

[Ken Burch]

27. Sheriff Arpaio would likely have opposed leaving blankets and thermoses of hot soup

At the Alpine border of Germany and Switzerland.

(Yes, it's Godwinning, but Arpaio is clearly a latter-day Reichmarshal).

[XemaSab]

29. Lame

I have seen the jugs and backpacks with clothes in Arivaca, and left them where they were.

[mainer]

32. Good for him. But I am really, really concerned about something.

If those water containers are out there, unguarded, what's to stop some anti-immigrant hate group from poisoning them?

[Robb]

33. Effort.

Remember who we're talking about here. Not really enthusiastic desert hikers. :)

[ProudDad]

63. Nope...

We're talking about the most desperate and industrious of people removing themselves from utter poverty at home, mostly brought about by the USAmerican Empire's economic policies, to the place where their livelihood was taken, to send some of it back home to feed their families.

The drug smugglers drive Hummers and SUVs -- so we're NOT talking about that component of the phony "War on Drugs(tm)"

We're talking about human beings.

[Robb]

68. Read my post again

I think you misunderstood. I was not speaking of immigrants. :hi:

[Vidar]

34. Staton's a hero, an exemplar of the words written on the Sttue of LIberty.

Never mind what the Border Patrol agents are.

[anonymous171]

35. Good for him. nt

[Shireling]

37. "As you have done to the least of these,

you have done to me." We Are One.

The great soul who said this was hung on a cross, too!

[slackmaster]

69. In defense of the feds, he wasn't just littering

He was also creating a disturbance.

[LanternWaste]

76. I am not only appalled that he has been sentenced...

I am not only appalled that he has been sentenced, I am also appalled that some of our own brethren on DU are being obviously and willfully disingenuous in their subtext that nationalism trumps life.



For Pete's sake-- at least have the courage of your own convictions to come out and say it directly, rather than tap dancing around it worse than a first grader at his first recital...

[damntexdem]

85. Good for him and his group!

[No Elephants]

94. Humanitarian aid is not litter. I agree with hootinholler in Reply # 20.

[cagesoulman]

100. Were the water bottles plastic, non biodegradable?

Kidding.

[crimsonblue]

103. He should've used biodegradeable bottles.

Littering problem solved.

[sendero]

106. Regardless of whether or not..

... you think littering in a park is serious, you CAN'T BELIEVE IT WARRANTS PRISON TIME CAN YOU?

Cuz if you do, fuck you.

[lonestarnot]

108. More of the pro life culture. Their mixed messages confuse 1st graders.

[Stuart G]

109. This story may be the most absurd story I have ever read..

It is totally beyond belief. Crazy..
Only in America..with ,,,, xenophobia..,,selfish self centered right wing nuts..

Who the hell has the time to arrest someone putting out water for people who may be dieing of thirst???

[proud2BlibKansan]

110. Wow. I have no words.

[ohio2007]

112. It is a bad idea leaving bottles of liquid along trails. People urinate in those same types of

same types of containers so the guy needs to know he is putting people at more of a risk then they already are taking.

[Honeycombe8]

113. Plus it's not exactly eco-friendly to litter a Nat'l Wildlife Refuge with large PLASTIC jugs. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

114. Because dying of thirst is so much better

:sarcasm: