Human Rights Activists Warn Climate-Induced Heat Waves Are Killing Asylum Seekers at the Border

return now to the massive heat Dome that is descending on Southern United States this week could be one of the worst in the Region's history breaking records for intensity and Longevity and impacting some 50 million people in Florida Texas New Mexico Arizona Southern California and Nevada heat domes are a key part of heat waves have become hotter and longer due to climate change heat is now the leading cause of weather-related death in the United States in a minute we'll look at the Heat's impact on workers and prisoners in Texas which just banned mandatory water breaks but we begin along the Southwest border where more than 100 migrants have already died from Heat this year last week alone the border patrol officials reported 13 deaths in 226 rescues for dehydration and other heat related causes democracy Now spoke to Humane borders board member volunteer Lori contillo about the group's work to maintain water stations for migrants crossing the Sonoran Desert and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument along the Arizona and Mexico border and many of these people are crossing uh without any idea what uh lies ahead how inhospitable the conditions are there's no shade oftentimes they're traveling with no water no food no hats there's small children with them I observed on my last water run a woman who was carrying a three to four month old infant on her back so you know these are just uh really harsh conditions and I'm very concerned about the toll that it's going to take on on human health this comes as thousands of migrants are languishing in camps that often have no running water as they struggle to book appointments to enter the United States through a new government smartphone app and Texas has started to install what it calls a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that has raised concern about drowning risks for people crossing the river for more we go to South Texas where the heat indexes could reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit this week we're joined in falfertius by Eddie Canales director of the South Texas Human Rights Center Eddie welcome back to democracy Now under terrible circumstances explain what this heat wave and U.S policy and Texas policy means for migrants when it comes to access to water and life itself well thank you uh for having me on uh explaining explaining the extreme heat that has uh been around already here for close to a month in terms of heat index reaching 115 to 120 degrees we uh the center provides uh water you know in terms of for the last nine years ten years we have provided water stations uh it's a guessing game in terms of where we can provide the water stations for migrants that are coming through this year in Brooks County there has been a uh 22 uh confirmed uh deaths in terms of recoveries of human remains and bodies and uh we're you know we were we're dealing with the the climate change and this is an example in terms of the extreme heat that we're facing here in South Texas we um where there you know people are are um you know having to deal with with that aspect of it and we we have access in some of the ranches in Brooks County who have been very gracious in allowing some of the ranchers to to provide some of the water but the other day we encountered a situation in one of the surrounding counties where we had placed some water stations um along a route there that's right out one of the counties that is surrounding next to Brooks County and and uh 12 of those water stations were missing uh were gone and we had just uh within the last couple of weeks here at checks those water stations um and and there were there were five there have been there for close in to nine years and we we uh checked with uh Texas Department of Transportation uh they had no nothing to do with the removal of those water stations so we're investigating the the fact that other uh in that county Ranchers have previously taken water stations that we've had present and we're just dealing and continuing our investigation regarding you know who who was why would you want to remove water stations that are life-saving for people um and I think it represents the sentiment that is being uh prevails here in the state of Texas by the governor in terms of really really uh um having doubling up on a lot of the enforcement and and spinning a lot of the state funds to try to deter people from coming um it is that's not the case there's no deterrence you know migration is not going to be stopped and anytime soon so we need to deal with that situation in a more compassionate and a more uh economic sense that what makes economics people are coming here to work people are coming here to hit the go to the big cities and do some of the work that is that is not being done by anybody else so what process do we have Beyond an enforcement only approach placing a buoy placing and and I think that extends out to some of the some of the ranchers in in that area in the Jim hog area in terms of where why the water stations would be removed you know and not and why construction workers can take a break in this heat so it's a reality that we have uh we need to um the extreme heat is having an effect uh cons migrant deaths has continued to happen until we have a policy that makes sense to in terms of receiving workers that are coming through essential workers that are coming through to provide and contribute to this is this economy in this country and also at the same time you know deal with the the lack of human rights from their from their home country Eddie canals could you talk about this uh this new initiative of Governor Greg Abbott to put a floating barrier in the Rio Grande to prevent uh people from coming through well we just we just had um I mean over the last past year there has been a lot of in the uh Eagle Pass Negros area there there has been a lot of drownings and um so I don't know how how effective it's just still an enforcement only approach and none of the efforts that uh Governor Abbott has really uh undertaken have have been effective to to any degree the buoy is a thousand feet long I just don't I just don't see how that's going to deter people they're just going to move to a more different a different area more dangerous area in terms of trying to get through the the process right now has slowed down considerably in terms of 50 percent less apprehensions at the border so but but still people are still um coming through on you know undetected or uninspected in that regards uh yesterday we received 12 calls out of the center here and 12 of those calls um only one of them had used the CBP one form and the other 11 people uh families we had to re you know were reporting that you know those those people are missing those people are have disappeared so the issue is is still the broken system there's no there's the only approach is an enforcement only approach and then that sentiment goes all the way into uh the you know the ranchers some of the ranchers and we're still following up in terms of our investigation in terms of what you know what happened some were were still present on that trail that we have and and but uh at least 12 of those water stations were missing so I don't know I I don't see the the the enforcement efforts by the state the governor having any effect whatsoever right now on deterring anybody well we're going to continue to look at the governor's policies Eddie Canalis thanks so much for being with us director of the South Texas Human Rights Center

Channel: Democracy Now!

Views: 19,268

Keywords: Democracy Now, Amy Goodman, News, Politics, democracynow, Independent Media, Breaking News, World News

Id: 9B3R0tR_m7U

Length: 8min 44sec (524 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 11 2023