J.D. Long-Garía/CATHOLIC SUN FILE PHOTO
No More Deaths volunteers Dan Millis, Katie Resendic, Micah McCoy and Dave Andrew map a patrol through the Arizona desert in search of migrants in distress in this 2006 file photo. Millis, who was convicted of littering in the desert in 2008. The conviction was overturned Sept. 2 by the U.S. 9th Circut Court of Appeals.
Littering conviction of border volunteer overturned by appeals court
In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals today overturned the conviction of a humanitarian activist for littering near the U.S.-Mexico border, stating that the clean bottles of drinking water placed on known migrant trails could not be considered “garbage” due to their intended purpose of preventing death-by-exposure.
Dan Millis, a volunteer with the faith-based organization No More Deaths, had been convicted in September 2008 for placing such water in the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR), where many migrants die in while crossing the border illegally.
“I continue to be saddened by the ongoing tragedy along the border," Millis said, "but I am pleased and relieved that the court has finally made clear that humanitarian aid is never a crime.”
On Feb. 22, 2008, two days after finding the body of a 14-year-old girl from El Salvador, Millis became the first humanitarian to be ticketed for littering near the border. In the months that followed his conviction refuge officials ticketed 17 other volunteers for attempting to provide water on BANWR. Although 16 of these cases were later dropped, No More Deaths volunteer Walt Staton was convicted of a more severe littering charge in August 2009.
This year alone, more than 214 human remains have been recovered from the southern Arizona desert, putting 2010 on track to be the deadliest year on record along the Arizona/Mexico border.
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