Desert Invasion - U.S.

Mexico to distribute maps to aid illegal immigrants

By Kansas City Star staff, Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/13703631.htm?source=rss&channel=kansascity_world

MEXICO CITY — A Mexican government commission said Tuesday that it would distribute 70,000 maps showing highways, rescue beacons and water tanks in the Arizona desert to curb deaths among illegal border-crossers.

The National Human Rights Commission, a government-funded agency with independent powers, denied that the maps — similar to a comic-style guide booklet that Mexico distributed to migrants last year — would encourage illegal immigration.

Officials said the maps would help those in trouble find rescue beacons and areas with cell phone reception. The maps would also show the distance a person could walk in the desert in a day....

“What’s next? Are they going to buy them bus tickets to Chicago?” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based think tank....

The booklet was distributed in early 2005 and warned of the perils of crossing illegally into the United States, while offering tips to stay safe. The booklet, of which about 1.5 million were printed, has enraged some advocates of stricter immigration policies in the United States....

The commission plans to hang the poster-size maps in March in places where migrants would see them, such as migrant aid groups, the commission’s offices and Mexican border towns.

They were designed by the Tucson, Ariz.-based rights group Humane Borders, which operates some of the desert water stations....

Read the complete article.

Fair Use: This site contains copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues related to mass immigration. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, see: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000107----000-.html.
In order to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.