Notification Of Request For UUCPA Endorsement – No More Deaths

The UUCPA Action Council recently received a request for support from the organization called No More Deaths, which began in 2004 in the form of a coalition of community and faith groups, dedicated to stepping up efforts to stop the deaths of migrants in the desert and to achieving the enactment of a set of Faith-Based Principles for Immigration Reform. It later developed into an autonomous project, and since 2008 has been an official ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson. Volunteers work in the remote corridors of Arizona into which migration has been pushed, where people are walking 30 to 80 miles. Volunteers hike the trails and leave water, food, socks, blankets, and other supplies. Under the direction of their medical team, volunteers provide emergency first-aid treatment to individuals in distress.

Recently nine No More Deaths volunteers were arrested and charged for conducting search and rescue operations and leaving lifesaving food and water on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, a remote area of the desert where dozens die every year crossing the border. Four of the volunteers have now been convicted of misdemeanor crimes, as a result of which No More Deaths is now asking for signatures on a Public Statement of Support for these volunteers.

The Action Council has approved a request for UUCPA to sign on to this statement of support and has sent the request on to the Board of Trustees for their consideration. If you have concerns or questions about whether UUCPA should sign on to this statement, please contact the Action Council (actioncouncil@uucpa.org) or the Board (board@uucpa.org) no later than February 13. For more information about this effort, please stop by the Action Council Table.