EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – El Paso County commissioners on Monday unanimously passed a resolution calling for more humane immigration policies in response to a mounting number of migrant fatalities in the region.
“It’s a very somber resolution and it saddens me we even have this type of resolution to light,” Commissioner David Stout said. (But) “I don’t think people understand how many migrants are dying in the El Paso Sector every year, and it’s my hope this resolution helps us bring light to that and take future policy action.”
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Speaking at Monday’s Commissioners Court meeting, Stout said U.S. immigration policy “doesn’t allow enough people” into the country and makes those who qualify for lawful entry wait many years.
Aggressive enforcement in urban areas where asylum-seekers used to surrender is also placing many migrants in the hands of smugglers who try to get them across the border in dangerous desert, mountain and canal areas.
El Paso County Commissioner David Stout.
More than 100 migrants have died in each of the past two years in the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol that includes El Paso and Hudspeth counties and all of southern New Mexico, according to data cited by commissioners.
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“It’s tough to say, but the United States continuously and knowingly is killing immigrants. I know it’s a very shocking statement but it’s the reality of the current state of federal and state policy and practices,” Stout said.
The Rev. Arturo Bañuelas, chair emeritus of the Hope Border Institute’s board of directors, said more people are dying trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border nowadays than those who perish in natural disasters such as hurricanes and fires.
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“This growing tragedy of migrant deaths in our midst demands our urgent attention and compassion,” Bañuelas said. “These deaths are occurring right here, close to our homes, our churches and our communities. As people of faith and people of good will, we cannot turn away. To ignore this crisis is to deny the humanity and dignity of those who have died. “
Bañuelas alluded to misconceptions Americans may have about migrants. He said he has canvassed the desert north of the border and found no evidence of migrants involved in drug trafficking.
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“We find backpacks, Bibles, medicines, pictures of loved ones and personal belongings, items that tell the story of regular people making a dangerous journey to find a better life,” Bañuelas told commissioners on Monday. “It’s a profound moral failure when seeking a better life and safety results in death.”