1. travel
2. tourist destinations
3. mexico and central america

Spring 2015
Edited by Denise Holley
NMD rallies support for immigrant in sanctuary
By Denise Holley
Volunteers with No More Deaths hoisted signs that
declared “We Stand with Rosa” as they launched a
campaign in February to free a Tucson mother from the
threat of deportation. Keep Tucson Together, a NMD
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Rosa Robles Loreto and put pressure on Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Robles Loreto took sanctuary at Southside Presbyterian
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would send her back to Mexico and separate her from her
husband and two sons. A resident of Tucson since 1999,
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2011, which led to the order last summer.
Three immigrants who sought sanctuary in churches
in 2014 came to Southside Feb. 25 to encourage Robles
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with his family from May to June and Francisco Perez
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Methodist Church in Tucson from September to DecemEHU$QJHOD1DYDUURWUDYHOHGIURP3KLODGHOSKLDZKHUH
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deportation orders lifted or cases closed.
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dreamed we’d still be here at Christmas,” attorney Margo
Cowan told the Southside congregation in December.
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Loreto’s case.+HUWLPHOLYLQJLQDVPDOOURRPDWWKH
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Photo by Denise Holley
Rosa Robles Loreto (right) speaks at a community
conversation about sanctuary Feb. 25, 2015, at Southside
Presbyterian Church in Tucson. To avoid a deportation
order, she took sanctuary in the church in August 2014. On
the left is Daniel Neyoy Ruiz, who stayed at Southside with
his family in May and June 2014 until Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) stayed his deportation order.
Robles Loreto is still awaiting action from ICE.
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together only on weekends. “But I am a person of faith,”
she said, who leans on God when she feels sad.
“Rosa is a woman with much faith, optimism and
strength,” said Ernesto Portillo, Jr., editor of La Estrella,
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Neyoy Ruiz pledged.
Continued on page 7
No More Deaths is an organization whose mission is to end death and suffering on the border between the United
States and Mexico by mobilizing people of conscience to uphold fundamental human rights. Founded in 2004, in
Tucson, Arizona, NMD provides water, food and medical assistance to migrants walking through the Arizona desert,
monitors U.S. operations on the border, works to change the “war zone” policy, and brings the plight of
migrants to public attention. It is a ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson.
To contact No More Deaths, call (520) 333- 5699 or visit the website www.nomoredeaths.org
Dear
Friends of No
More Deaths
Volunteer
‘shaken
down’
as NMD releases
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Right now….
No More Deaths volunteers and other border justice activists are awaiting a judge’s decision after their trial in a Pima
County
courtroom in Tucson. The 12 defendants were arrested Oct. 11, 2013 for blockading two Operation Streamline
By Denise Holley
buses carrying migrants to the federal courthouse for a mass hearing and sentencing. Their courageous action halted that
Dorothy Chao
her purse,a including
her for crossing the border without documents.
day’s proceedings
andsurrendered
spared 61 migrants
prison sentence
cell phone, passport, family photos, phone numbers and
The judge dropped all but two charges and is now deciding whether these activists are guilty of being a public nuisance
two bottles of medicine. Fellow No More Deaths (NMD)
and obstructing a highway. Margo Cowan, the defendants’ attorney, summed it up succinctly in her closing statement:
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“What happened that day is about something much greater than an inconvenience,” she said. “Our obligation as
some 65 people, including reporters and photographers,
Americans is to hold our government accountable.”
watched.
Our Chao
springagreed
volunteer
program
is in
second arrested
full week.byIt attracts college students on spring break and others from
to play
the role
of its
a migrant
around
the
country
during
March
to
provide
humanitarian
aid in the desert. Local volunteers continue to go to Nogales
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several
times
a
week
to
provide
phones
so
deported
people
can call their family members. Nogales volunteers also provide
her wedding ring and glasses, she said. Then he took the
medical
and help people get their detention checks cashed and recover their possessions.
bag aid
away.
On another
volunteers
from No More
“I can’tfront,
see without
my glasses,”
Chao Deaths
said. “I and
was other border justice groups work with Keep Tucson Together
(KTT)
to help
DACA
(Deferredlooking
Action for
Childhood
Arrivals)
students and their families get their paperwork in order
feeling
a little
threatened,
at all
my stuff in
the
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bag.”
Photo by Steve Johnston
in sanctuary
at Southside Presbyterian
Church since
Aug.to7, 2014. The goal is to persuade Immigration and Customs
This “dispossession
through deportation”
happens
Enforcement
(ICE) to close Rosa’s deportation case and assure that 1R0RUH'HDWKVYROXQWHHU'DYLG+LOOOHIWFRQ¿VFDWHVDOO
her family will stay together in Tucson.
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of volunteer Dorothy Chao’s personal belongings at a press
Connecting
the
dots
of
these
seemingly
disparate
activities
gives
shape
to a vision that drives our work at No More
told the audience in Tucson, Arizona on Dec. 10, 2014.
conference Dec. 10, 2014, in Tucson. NMD was releasing
Deaths.
Our
mission“Shakedown,”
is to end deathitsand
suffering
on abuse
the U.S.-Mexico
border. Our continuing work takes on many creative
NMD
released
third
report on
of
its third report on abuse of migrants titled “Shakedown.”
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to carry out that mission. We’re grateful for your
ToThe
contribute,
writewhat
a check
payable
to UUCT/
act dramatizes
happens
routinely
to migrants in
continuing
Day. generosity and your ongoing support. On behalf
custody
who areand
often
deported
without
theirMore
belongings
No
More
Deaths
send
it
to:
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third of
thesisters,
borderthank
crossers
of our Nearly
migrantone
brothers
and
you.who are stripped
and
cash.
RIHYHU\WKLQJWKH\RZQDUHHYHQWXDOO\GHSRUWHGZLWKRXW Deaths, P.O. Box 40782, Tucson, AZ 85717, or visit
In solidarity,
www.nomoredeaths.org and select the
their money or belongings, according to the report. Their our website
FDVHVLQ10'¶V3URSHUW\$VVLVWDQFH5HFRYHU\
The No More Deaths Community
“donate”
button.
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nearly impossible to cash or use in Mexico.
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Without Mexican ID, a deported person cannot cash a
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about one third of their funds, but the rest was lost.
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“I hope you feel the anguish of the migrants,” said Dr.
food or a bus ride home, these people may be harassed by
Scott Whiteford, director of Latin American Studies at the
police, kidnapped or recruited by smugglers to cross the
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be with family.”
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report on migrant belongings in 2013, he said. Researchers
found a large discrepancy between regions. In El Paso, 85
percent of deportees lost their belongings, Whiteford said.
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Belongings are usually held at Border Patrol headquarters for 30 days, the report said. But migrants sent to
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to six months in prison for illegal entry. When they are
deported, there is no guarantee they will be reunited with
their possessions.
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Photos by Jim Marx
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No More
Deaths volunteer Daniel Wilson completed a
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well and
cistern
project at Byrd Camp in Arivaca, Arizona,
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in time ³(YHU\RQHDUUHVWHGE\&%3&XVWRPVDQG%RUGHU
for Christmas 2014. Before then, NMD relied on
Humane
Bordersends
to deliver
blue barrels
of water
the
Protection)
up in ICE
(Immigration
andfor
Customs
NMD volunteers who researched. wrote and edited the
camp.
Now
campers
and
migrants
use
this
faucet
(left)
for
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“Shakedown” report hold a banner after their press cona
renewable
source
of
water.
as well go to ICE with them.”
ference on Dec. 10, 2014.
2 6
Spring break campers experience the
desert reality for migrants
Sanctuary continued
A week earlier, Keep Tucson Together held a press conference at the
church and then accompanied Rosa’s sons, Gerardo Jr. and José Emiliano,
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By Denise Holley
Photos by Bob Torrez
“We don’t like moms being deported,” said Sarah Launius, co-coordinator
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doesn’t mean beaches and parties for
of KeepSpring
Tucsonbreak
Together.
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students who come to the No More Deaths camps in
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March. Instead, they lug water on long hikes in the
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water?”
rugged Arizona desert. They sleep in tents and eat with
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for certain immigrants, Launius said.
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10'YROXQWHHUVYRWHG0DUFKWRGRQDWHWRWKHFDPSDLJQWREODQexpression, he said.
ket the Tucson area with more “We Stand with Rosa” signs.
Zambrano’s parents left Puebla, Mexico and crossed the
RIGHT: Attorney Margo Cowan speaks on behalf of local immigrants
who
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have taken sanctuary to avoid deportation during a Feb. 25 meetinglegal
at status through the 1986 immigration law, but it took
Southside Presbyterian Church. Below her is Rosa Robles Loreto, who
hasfor his mother to get her green card.
years
lived in sanctuary at Southside since August 2014.
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Photo by Denise Holley
Zambrano said. “Being Mexican-American, we are aware
of the struggles our families go through.”
Camp facilitator Alyn (Alana) Tchirkine, 24, heard
stories
about crossing the desert from immigrants she met
Mariah Wallace
Andy Whinery
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other students and adults from across the country who
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funds
to
host the conference due to their close relationship
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No More Deaths’ Abuse Documentation team and
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“I feel like my skills are useful here,” she said. “I know
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to the Arizona desert in 2014 “because there are human
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documented
these abuses in recent reports. El Proyecto de
beings getting sick, getting hurt and dying in the desert,”
In
her
second year
as a facilitator,
helps
Defensa
e
Incidencia
Binacional
(PDIB) Tchirkine
cosponsored
the
she said.
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gathering.
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approached us with photocopies of checks
was surprised by the scale of No More Deaths’ operation in Mexicali
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Migrants sometimes tell her, “We found your food and
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change into.”
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without it,” Tchirkine said.
Now in her second year on spring break, Wallace said SUHVHQWDWLRQRQWKH¿QGLQJVIURPRXUODWHVWUHSRUW
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States.
to folks who are deported without their belongings. The
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American citizen, being able to
see my
family,
doing
strategy among the more than 40 attendees.
pretty
much
what
I
want,”
Wallace
said.
No More Deaths volunteer Juan Manuel Aguirre
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Andy
Whinery,
28, help
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Texas, took
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Byrd
Camp
with his
girlfriend,
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receive
from
detention
centers
instead
their cash.
deported migrants goes. The plan calls for coordinated
“I hope to help people who are in need and get enough DGYRFDF\DWORFDODQGLQWHUQDWLRQDOOHYHOVUDQJLQJ
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from a pressure campaign against predatory debit card
back to my friends and family,” Whinery said.
companies to obtaining a hearing at the Inter-American
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Jesse Zambrano
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Whinery said. But seeing water bottles slashed was tough
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The three-week spring break program attracted 73
emotionally.
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Nogales,and
Ariz.,
whowho
cash
detention
center checks
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adults
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the conference.
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action.”
NMD joins Mexico City conference on missing
money and belongings
7
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States,
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5
5
Volunteer ‘shaken down’ as NMD releases
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By Denise Holley
Dorothy Chao surrendered her purse, including her
cell phone, passport, family photos, phone numbers and
two bottles of medicine. Fellow No More Deaths (NMD)
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some 65 people, including reporters and photographers,
watched.
Chao agreed to play the role of a migrant arrested by
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her wedding ring and glasses, she said. Then he took the
bag away.
“I can’t see without my glasses,” Chao said. “I was
feeling a little threatened, looking at all my stuff in the
bag.”
This “dispossession through deportation” happens to
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told the audience in Tucson, Arizona on Dec. 10, 2014.
NMD released “Shakedown,” its third report on abuse of
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Day.
Nearly one third of the border crossers who are stripped
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their money or belongings, according to the report. Their
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nearly impossible to cash or use in Mexico.
Without Mexican ID, a deported person cannot cash a
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food or a bus ride home, these people may be harassed by
police, kidnapped or recruited by smugglers to cross the
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Photo by Steve Johnston
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of volunteer Dorothy Chao’s personal belongings at a press
conference Dec. 10, 2014, in Tucson. NMD was releasing
its third report on abuse of migrants titled “Shakedown.”
The act dramatizes what happens routinely to migrants in
custody who are often deported without their belongings
and cash.
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about one third of their funds, but the rest was lost.
“I hope you feel the anguish of the migrants,” said Dr.
Scott Whiteford, director of Latin American Studies at the
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be with family.”
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report on migrant belongings in 2013, he said. Researchers
found a large discrepancy between regions. In El Paso, 85
percent of deportees lost their belongings, Whiteford said.
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Belongings are usually held at Border Patrol headquarters for 30 days, the report said. But migrants sent to
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to six months in prison for illegal entry. When they are
deported, there is no guarantee they will be reunited with
their possessions.
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Protection) ends up in ICE (Immigration and Customs
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as well go to ICE with them.”
NMD volunteers who researched. wrote and edited the
“Shakedown” report hold a banner after their press conference on Dec. 10, 2014.
6
Sanctuary continued
A week earlier, Keep Tucson Together held a press conference at the
church and then accompanied Rosa’s sons, Gerardo Jr. and José Emiliano,
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“We don’t like moms being deported,” said Sarah Launius, co-coordinator
of Keep Tucson Together.
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for certain immigrants, Launius said.
10'YROXQWHHUVYRWHG0DUFKWRGRQDWHWRWKHFDPSDLJQWREODQket the Tucson area with more “We Stand with Rosa” signs.
RIGHT: Attorney Margo Cowan speaks on behalf of local immigrants who
have taken sanctuary to avoid deportation during a Feb. 25 meeting at
Southside Presbyterian Church. Below her is Rosa Robles Loreto, who has
lived in sanctuary at Southside since August 2014.
Photo by Denise Holley
NMD joins Mexico City conference on missing
money and belongings 7KH$PHULFDQ&LYLO/LEHUWLHV8QLRQ$&/8DOORFDWHG
funds to host the conference due to their close relationship
with No More Deaths’ Abuse Documentation team and
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documented these abuses in recent reports. El Proyecto de
Defensa e Incidencia Binacional (PDIB) cosponsored the
gathering.
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in Mexicali approached us with photocopies of checks
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to folks who are deported without their belongings. The
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strategy among the more than 40 attendees.
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deported migrants goes. The plan calls for coordinated
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from a pressure campaign against predatory debit card
companies to obtaining a hearing at the Inter-American
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from Nogales, Ariz., who cash detention center checks for
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the conference.
Photo by Rociio Melendez
No More Deaths volunteer Juan Manuel Aguirre
describes how volunteers help deported migrants in
Nogales, Sonora, cope with debit cards and checks they
receive from detention centers instead of their cash.
By Alicia Dinsmore
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how people are systematically robbed of their belonging
through detention and deportation.
7
Photo by Michael Hyatt
Man on a mission
$OYDUR(QFLVRVWDQGVEHVLGHDVKULQHWRDPLJUDQWZKRGLHGLQWKH$UL]RQDGHVHUWKRSLQJWR¿QGZRUNDQGIDPLO\(QFLVRDQDUWLVW
and a Tucson Samaritan, looked at the maps of human remains charted by Samaritan Ed McCullough and lamented that none of the
deceased persons had a grave marker. Using GPS to locate the site of a death, he leads volunteers bearing a cross to erect in cement
at the location. By January 2015, Enciso had placed more than 100 crosses scattered across the landscape around the Tumacacori
Mountains and the Altar Valley. ³,ZDQWHGWRZDONWKHWUDLOVWURGE\WKHGHDGPLJUDQWV´(QFLVRVDLG³,ZDQWHGWRUHÀHFWDWWKHVSRW
where that person drew their last breath. I wanted to feel the enormity of the tragedy and consider the repercussions.”
NMD project recovers missing migrant belongings in 2014
By David Hill
I wanted to share some numbers about the work done by
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tasks according to our database.
Belongings picked up ¬ 129
Directly from arresting agency (Border Patrol or Customs), 14; from the federal Public Defender 82; from the
Consulate of Mexico,33.
(We used to collect a lot of requests for help from deported migrants in Nogales, but now we only collect them
from imprisoned migrants. These requests were or are
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Belongings mailedLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVLQFOXGLQJD
couple to Central America) 50, in Mexico 55, both, 3.
Moneys sent by wire transfer or by deposit into a bank
account or prison account - 40. They total approximately
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Acknowledgments sent to prisoners (All requests get
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can’t help) - 55
Belongings directly received from NMD by their owner’s
family in Nogales - 26
Requests received from migrants in prison seeking help
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Letters sentQRWLI\LQJRZQHURIEHORQJLQJVWKDWZHKDYH
them, requesting instructions – 170, in prison. 134;
at home address, 36.
Letters sent informing imprisoned owner that belongings
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8