Migration to Arizona: water tanks and white crosses

Before the mid-term elections in the United States, Republicans are also adapting to the migration issue. In the state of Arizona, there are always deaths at the border fence. Residents see differently what should result from this for politics.

They look frightened, exhausted and dusty: a young couple crouched on the ground, illuminated by the headlights of the big trucks of the border police. An officer takes the personal data. Employees of a humanitarian organization called “Samaritan”, who are watching the scene across the street, cannot ask where the couple is from and where they want to go.

Meanwhile, a research helicopter flies over the Arizona desert, illuminating boulders and cacti in search of other fugitives. Every day, more than 7,000 people arrive at the border barrier between Mexico and the US state and try to cross it.

For those who do, dehydration is the biggest problem, explains Barry Gosling. The 72-year-old aide to the “Samaritans” regularly tows containers of water into the desert. Because during the day he can get 40 degrees Celsius warmer in the border area of ​​Arizona. This is why most refugees travel at dusk and at night.

But then the wild animals also move: mountain lions, coyotes, rabid raccoons and snakes. The “Samaritans” then distribute water where migrants often pass and patrol the area. Michael Hyatt has been a volunteer for exactly 20 years. Since that time, the number of desperate people crossing the desert has been steadily increasing.

Hyatt says he wants to help make a difference. That’s why he documents everything with his camera: the people, the equipment left behind and, in the worst case: the corpses. The 76-year-old says he served in the Navy in Vietnam and was used to horrifying images.

The end of dreams

So far this year, 226 people have not made it to this section of the border near the town of Sasebe. Wherever there are bodies, humanitarian organizations place crosses. They call it the end of dreams, when another hope for a better life in the United States is buried in the desert.

The nine-meter-high border fence between Arizona and Mexico towers rusty in the sky. Previous President Donald Trump alone spent $ 18 billion on his ambitions to extend the border fence. Just under 84 kilometers were completed during his tenure. There are still gaps at regular intervals, just so as not to obstruct wildlife and waterways. But they should be closed now.

It’s a good thing, thinks Sheriff Mark Lamb, who embodies his position in Florence with every fiber: the 50-year-old wears a cowboy hat and his sheriff’s star casually on his belt. Like most of the sheriffs in the area, he is a proud Republican. He was a guest in the White House twelve times when Donald Trump was president. He says he hasn’t heard from the government since Joe Biden took office there. You have almost forgotten those who enforce the law on the ground.

Gangs exploit migrants

Trump was not the only one pushing for the construction of the wall. Under George W. Bush and Barack Obama there was also diligent construction on the border: more than 1,000 of the 31,245 kilometers of the border are now blocked.

Not good enough for Sheriff Lamb. He thinks the wall needs to be built quickly. In the United States, the post of sheriff is elected every four years. This is why Lamb can take a clear position. He obviously doesn’t want people to die on the border or in the desert. But he also wants to prevent “illegals, criminals and terrorists” from entering the country undetected, he says.

Since Biden and the Democrats ruled in Washington, attempts to cross the border have increased by 250 percent, the sheriff says. He is in charge of 650 deputy sheriffs and officers and the prison. 365 of the 1100 seats are currently occupied.

The sheriff is particularly concerned about gang crime: Mexican drug cartels abusing refugees to transport their goods across the border. Of course you have to help the refugees, this is what humanity requires. But each of the aides must also be aware that they support the signs, says Lamb.

Crosses for the dead

To draw media attention to the dramatic situation at the border, the two Republican governors of Arizona and Texas regularly send large buses with refugees to liberal cities on the east coast: Chicago, Washington or New York. The mayor even declared a state of emergency there because so many people are arriving in the city.

Republicans dominate the election campaign with illegal immigration and crime issues – campaigns to scare people have promised success in the past. The argument is highly polarizing: the Democrats are trying to promote a humane America and are calling for migration reform. Republicans want this too, but they count on isolation.

“Who will do all our dirty jobs then?” asks Robert Victor in the city of Douglas, further south of Arizona, alluding to the high number of migrants with poorly paid and unpopular jobs in the United States. But that’s not all he cares about.

Victor, who describes himself as a conservative, meets several of his fellow activists every Tuesday for a vigil at the border crossing with Mexico. As annoyed drivers queue up three lanes in front of the border crossing, members draw white crosses along the way. Each bears the name of a person found dead in the desert and any information that could be found about it. This year 14 new crosses have already been added in Douglas alone.

Among those who lay their crosses, some vote Democrats, some vote Republicans. What unites them is their humanity: they want to remember all those who failed to live the best life they dreamed of in the United States, so as not to be forgotten.

You can see this report today in the daily topics – at 22:15 in the first.