Volunteers pick up TONS of illegal alien trash in desert

The wrinkled blue bandana tied to the handle of a black one-gallon jug fluttered in the arid desert wind on Tucson's far west side.

When the jug was overturned, its remaining water spilled into an arroyo filled with thick brush made green from recent monsoon rains.

The jug and nine others were found in the brush on a recent Saturday morning and picked up by volunteers from Humane Borders, a nonprofit organization based in Tucson that deals in administering humanitarian aid for migrants. Student volunteers from the University of Arizona's Chicano/Hispano Student Affairs center assisted in the trash pick-up.

Ray Daukei, a 10-year volunteer with Humane Borders, explained to the group of volunteers that migrants journeying north had left the black jugs behind. He said the migrants crossing the desert prefer the black plastic jugs because "dark absorbs light, and even though it makes the water very hot, there's less risk of being detected. If they need to drink hot water, they have so much invested, it's worth the risk."

For Humane Borders volunteers, cleaning up migrant trash on city land is a means to continuing their practice of setting up water stations in highly trafficked migrant areas.

"We do cleanup work, particularly in the places we have water stations," Sofia Gomez, executive director of Humane Borders, told the group of volunteers. "We have a permit with the city of Tucson, and so we do this as a courtesy and a thank you for allowing us to erect water stations."

The goal of the group's recent excursion was to clean up migrant trash in the desolate desert area owned by the city of Tucson. It's near Avra Valley.

The volunteers emptied the black jugs and placed them in trash bags. Christopher Lopez, an environmental inspector for the Tucson Water Department, who went with the volunteers to document the clean-up for the city, found a long black plastic tube with both ends broken off.

Lopez told the group that migrants used the tube for siphoning water out of the ground by shoving the tube into the arroyo multiple times. The tube is worked into the ground of the arroyo while the person using it sucks in any available water. The tube is reworked into the ground, and water is drawn out again by the person before he or she places it on the ground to create a gravity feed.

"They (migrants) do it really quick," said Lopez, enacting the motion with the tube. "It's not like they sit there. They've got to get this done really quick, so it's real automatic."

The volunteers quickly filled their large black outdoor trash bags with left-behind debris that included numerous backpacks, smaller plastic bottles, shoes, a tattered green sweater, a dusty blanket and a toothbrush.

According to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, in conjunction with the University of Arizona School of Geography and Development, migrant trash left behind in the desert can reach up to 16 tons a day in Arizona alone. The department estimates up to 6,000 tons of trash could be left behind each year.

In just this trash pick-up alone, a little over 15 bags of trash were removed from the area within two hours.

Gomez said the organization has picked up more than 3,000 pounds of migrant trash in multiple locations just this year.

For University of Arizona pre-business major Lyvier Elizalde, who grew up in Nogales, Ariz., the trash pick-up struck a larger chord than seeing the Border Patrol regularly around her community.

"I didn't know it was this bad," Elizalde said. "I didn't think we'd find backpacks or toothbrushes or anything like that."

Even though the migrant traffic comes from the south, the area west of Tucson is well traveled because of the large electrical transmission lines in the area belonging to Trico Electric Cooperative, said Poncho Chavez, a Humane Borders volunteer and member of its board of directors.

"People are trying to use the Trico as a guide," Chavez, said, looking up from his from his trash bag and pointing. "It's one of the areas where most traffic exists for migrants."

While some of the volunteers were surprised at what they were able to find, regular volunteers from Humane Borders say anything is possible.

"I've found an iPod out here, and sociology, psychology and mathematics books, and Palm Pilots," Daukei said as he looked farther west while holding up his hand to block the sun. "I've found baby strollers, tons of bicycles, right here in city of Tucson property."

For Chavez, a four-year-veteran of Humane Borders, who originally moved from Mexico to the United States to continue his education, the issue of illegal immigration is tough to take a stance on. He said he's concerned about the migrants making their way north.

"It's sad knowing that people are crossing here by necessity," he said as he hauled his trash bag toward the Humane Borders truck. "When you pick up those things, you're thinking about the person that left them behind. Women, and maybe little kids, are the hardest thing. Brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, are coming, trying to reunite with their family."

About 15 student volunteers worked along the edge of the arroyo, carefully avoiding the small but awkward elevation changes around the crumbling arroyo. Prior to cleanup, volunteers were advised by members of Humane Borders to avoid walking into the arroyo and dense brush because of the risk of dangerous desert wildlife, specifically rattlesnakes.

As the group removed the trash from the area, a rattlesnake slithered across the ground, reminding the group of the dangers migrants encounter on their journeys.

"For (migrants) to have to leave something behind – it really hurts to see them part with their belongings," Daukei said. "I know we shouldn't get attached to material objects, but when you work an entire week just to buy a nice pair of shoes, that really tugs at your heartstrings."

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/100110_migrant_trash