During the public testimony, Halliburton was named by border residents
as one of those profiteering from the Bush-fueled attention and media
frenzy at the southern border.
The Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root was awarded a contract
worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention
centers. Halliburton, the subsidiary criticized for overcharging the
Pentagon for its work in Iraq and which was previously led by Vice
President Dick Cheney, will build the centers for Homeland Security in
the event of an unexpected influx of immigrants.
.
Shattering the silence
Posted: August 28, 2006
by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today
Border hearing slices through hype
Tohono O'odham, others reveal life in a militarized zone
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413526&na=2916
TUCSON, Ariz. - Rep. Raul Grijalva and others heard from indigenous
whose communities are located on both sides of the border, along with
other border residents describing the realities of death in the desert
and the hidden agendas of those profiteering from the sudden attention
to the southern border, at a public hearing held Aug. 17.
While testimony focused on human rights at the national border hearing
at the Armory Park Community Center downtown, outside members of the
Border Guardians burned a Mexican flag.
Before the testimony began, one Border Guardians member was arrested for
harassing and yelling at those arriving at the hearing. [Photos onsite]
In response to the ongoing national Republican-sponsored border hearings
held at other locations, Grijalva, D-Ariz., said those were ''road
shows.'' Grijalva attended the hearing in Tucson hosted by the Coalicion
de Derechos Humanos and the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee
Rights.
With the theme ''Communities on the Line: the Impacts of Militarization
and Impunity,'' testimony called for fair and just immigration reform.
Mike Wilson, Tohono O'odham, told Grijalva and others on the listening
panel that the Tohono O'odham Nation must be held accountable for
migrants who are dying from dehydration on Tohono O'odham tribal lands.
''What is the [Tohono O'odham] Nation doing to prevent migrant deaths on
tribal lands?'' said Wilson, who places water in containers on Tohono
O'odham tribal lands for migrants as a humanitarian action without the
support of the tribal government.
Baboquivari District on the Tohono O'odham Nation is one of the areas
with the highest number of migrant deaths due to heat exposure and
dehydration in the international border region, according to Humane Borders.
Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias, on the listening panel, reiterated
Wilson's comments in his summary and stated the Tohono O'odham must be
held accountable for actions regarding the deaths of migrants.
Pascua Yaqui from Arizona, Aurelio Alipa Valencia and Mario Gamboa
Leyva, said their U.S. passports appear to be worthless, since border
agents harass and threaten Yaqui who hold U.S. passports upon re-entry
at the Arizona border.
Recently, Alipa attempted to re-enter the U.S. with his U.S. passport,
but a border agent threatened and intimidated him.
''Anyone could have given you that,'' the border agent told Alipa. The
agent assumed Alipa was Mexican and told him to get a U.S. visa. Later,
when Alipa tried to make a formal complaint against the agent, he was
repeatedly told that the U.S. border representative was on vacation and
was then referred to another agent, then another.
Gamboa, supporting Alipa's testimony during the hearing, tossed his
passport aside and said it must be worthless.
David Garcia, Tohono O'odham, said he came to be present in solidarity
with others testifying and pointed out that he had personally invited
Tohono O'odham Chairman Vivian Juan-Saunders, who did not attend.
During the public testimony, Halliburton was named by border residents
as one of those profiteering from the Bush-fueled attention and media
frenzy at the southern border.
The Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root was awarded a contract
worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention
centers. Halliburton, the subsidiary criticized for overcharging the
Pentagon for its work in Iraq and which was previously led by Vice
President Dick Cheney, will build the centers for Homeland Security in
the event of an unexpected influx of immigrants.
Speaking on structural violence toward migrants at the hearing, Yendi
Castillo, Tucson defense attorney, said two of her clients were healthy
when they entered prison.
''They died in prison,'' Castillo said.
Pima County Medical Examiner Bruce Parks said in 2001, there were 80
deaths of persons in transit classified as migrants, including 14 in one
group. In 2005, the number increased to 197. The primary cause of death
was exposure to the heat, followed by undetermined causes (due to rapid
decomposition caused by heat) and the third is traffic crashes
(primarily resulting from patrol pursuits).
Bianca Encinias of the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic
Justice described how she grew up in Albuquerque, N.M., where community
water sources are contaminated. Encinias also pointed out that New
Mexico was the site where the atomic bomb was first tested.
Encinias said American Indians in New Mexico are now suffering from high
rates of cancer and other diseases because of widespread uranium mining
in Indian communities.
After stating that there is a need to reconnect with the Earth, she
said, ''We have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of our
communities.''
The Center for Biological Diversity said a proposed border wall is ''a
colossal environmental disaster'' which will not stem illegal
immigration. The proposed triple wall of more than 370 miles of the
U.S./Mexico border is opposed by many traditional Tohono O'odham who say
it will close their traditional route to ceremonies.
The CBD said the militarization of the region, low-flying aircraft,
roads and border wall will further stress the fragile ecosystem of the
border region, home to the cactus pygmy owl and Sonoran pronghorn in
Arizona. It is also home to the flat-tailed horned lizard and peninsular
range bighorn sheep in California. The triple wall, the length of the
border, would block critical wildlife migration and destroy valuable
habitat, according to the center.
Currently the Border Patrol operates in eight federally protected areas
in Arizona.
