Open letter to border crossers and others playing in the desert during triple-digit temperatures.
The Arizona sun has no mercy/Ryn Gargulinski
Dearest Border Crossers:
While we admire your tenacity at attempting to cross the sizzling desert to get into the United States at any cost, we do ask a dinky little favor:
Can you at least wait until the desert is a tad less sizzling?
Perhaps a break during the hottest months is what you need. It’s not called the “season of death” for nothing.
U.S. Border Patrol agents needed to rescue at least 27 desert crossers for heat-related injuries in a recent two-day span, a Tucson Sector press release tells us.
Two illegal aliens were found severely dehydrated, one of them suffering from delirium. Perhaps he thought he was still in Mexico, or even that he made it to Maine.
Another Tucson Sector rescue involved a pregnant woman who was both dehydrated and suffering from abdominal pain from drinking contaminated water out of a cattle tank. We don’t think that’s good for the fetus.
The Yuma Sector agents also had their hands full. Last week two agents responded to a rescue beacon about 15 miles from the Fortuna Foothills near the Gila Mountains – only to find two guys who had been wandering around the desert for about four days.
Agents soon discovered these guys, too, were illegal aliens. Background checks revealed one of the fellows had been removed from the U.S. four times prior to his latest illegal attempt to enter the country. The Yuma press release did not note if the previous attempts had been in the summer.
The pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, others were treated at the scene, and “all of the subjects were then held for processing.”
You see, this hot weather stuff just isn’t working.
Even if you do evade the animal coyotes, the human coyotes, the agents, and the bears coming down from the mountains – the heat is going to get you.
We’re not even supposed to leave our dogs sans shade in these temperatures.
If you don’t die from the heat and are instead rescued, you’ll just get sent back to your home country anyway. This only serves to create a merry-go-round of wasted resources and time.
Sure, more than 200 border patrol agents are trained as EMTs and humanitarian rescue efforts will be made, but that doesn’t mean you should test their skills, knowledge and patience.
But some still are. Since Oct. 1, Tucson Sector agents have rescued 233 people from the desert and the Yuma Sector agents 17.
Please note these numbers only include people found alive. Be sure there are some dehydrated corpses out there.
But don’t take our word for it.
“Despite the obvious heat dangers, smugglers carelessly put lives at risk in their attempts to profit from illegal activity,” a press release quoted Tucson Sector Associate Chief Raleigh Leonard. “These unfortunate incidents are a reminder that the Sonoran Desert is a harsh and unforgiving environment.”
Thank you for your consideration. And we’re sure we’ll see you again in the fall.
The face of dehydration/Art and photo Ryn Gargulinski
[tnipoll]
What do you think?
What’s the biggest example you’ve seen of lack of common sense?
Have you ever needed medical treatment for a heat-related condition?
Have you ever passed out in the sun and gotten really bad tan lines?
God put that desert there for a reason….
mother nature always wins, too.
Good post Rynski ! I’ve been involved in assisting folks who get in trouble in the borderlands and thething all of us hear over and over again is the coyotes lie to them about what they are walking into.
Personally I think some of these coyotes are basically serial killers and should be treated as such by both US and Mexican law enforcement authorities.
thanks, hugh – i’ve been enjoying your posts, too – you’re a writing machine! hahah.
that is scary if folks are duped into thinking they can safely cross the desert – esp. in the blazing hot weather.
very much like your coyotes as serial killers take on it –
perhaps they ENJOY killing people and mean to kill them? wow. never thought of it that way. now i need to write a poem….
It’s always been my understanding that many coming across illegally don’t know what they’re in for with the heat.
Aren’t many parts of Mexico the same temperature year round?
that has never occurred to me – i always thought it was simply lack of common sense – or people thinking they are tougher than they actually are.
thanks for giving me new perspective over here!
p.s. don’t know much about mexico weather – except i know tulum is nice (80s) in february and then gets KILLER during july et al.
Well, I think many areas are like in the upper seventies to mid eighties this time of year, into the low nineties, and the rain forest areas temperatures stay pretty much the same all year round.
Possibly with a lack of available media exposure, many don’t realize the extremes?
Some of us that do support LEGAL immigration into this country are also thinking about the safety of these folks as well as the belief in the safety of our country, etc.
Well meaning grandparents living in the U.S. pay thousands of dollars to a ‘coyote’ to bring a grandchild here. That coyote can sell that child, molest them, abuse them or kidnap them for ransom.
I see no good coming from supporting illegal immigration, including the safety of the people attempting it.
If you really want to help them, sponsor them.
Hello Azmouse…
You are ever so right… If the illegals would only think about it
and it has probably happened as you write..
“Possibly with a lack of available media exposure, many don’t realize the extremes? ”
Hey azmouse. I think that’s a big contributor. Much of Mexico’s central highlands are semi-arid or arid. The elevation tempers the summer extremes. By way of example, the City of San Luis Potosi, in the state of the same name, has a winter climate and annual rainfall similar to Tucson, but the summers are more like Show Low, with the hottest month (May, interestingly enough) averaging 57/84 for the low and high. Yet, the landscape looks remarkably similar to what they encounter in Arizona. That alone could easily give a false sense of security. Plus, as you well know, it is oftentimes quite bearable out in the open when there is a light breeze and you are not expending any energy. I imagine that in their incredibly strong desire to get into this country, many illegal immigrants talk themselves into believing the lies of the coyotes and ignoring what might otherwise be obvious signals. It isn’t until they are in the thick of things, and past the point of no return, that they fully realize the reality.
Hello Charles!
Thanks for the input.I’m no expert on this at all, but I know how I feel!
Hey koreyk,
Thank you for the info. Again, I am not that familiar but was just guess-timating.
The last two Border Crossers who came out here to my ranch, An Uncle and Nephew, the Nephew died from lack of water and the Uncle about died on my porch from drinking out of the rain barrel. He ate a whole bag of grapefruit I picked and had sitting there on the porch. He was so delirious he told the B.P., Sheriff, Search and Rescue and the ambulance guys four different stories to where his Nephew was located, A days walk South of me they found him by a rock house with no roof somewhere out on Trico Road. By then it was too late. “Covered But” itc
dear covered but,
thanks for the real-life cautionary tale. how crappy. did the nephew die on your porch? what happens if someone dies on your porch?
eating a whole bag of grapefruit in one sitting is also a def. sign of delirium, as well.
sad story.
I also like to assist those I find in the desert, I gladly provide water and then I call them a ride. While I am not qualified to determine the immigration status of those I encounter in the harsh desert, I find that a citizens report to the US border Patrol brings the quickest possible response in the area. The Border Patrol is qualified to determine if the individuals require emergency treatment…or maybe just a ride.
I like doing my part to help people in need.
Si, se, puede
that’s quite kind, joes – and trusting.
as a woman traveling alone, i would not be too keen on giving anyone a ride, harsh desert or not, but i would call border patrol or other assistance (as long as i kept my doors locked – haha).
good to hear the good samaritan theory is more than just a theory…
Hehe…well I don’t provide the ride, I just call “the ride”….
Sometimes they send helicopters to help find folks that have yet to realize they need help… 8^)
ha! i read it as you providing the ride – and picturing you driving around with the person in your passenger seat, sharing your lunch and maybe a cigar – hahahahha.
got it! well, i’m ALL with you then. how extra extra nice of you to even call a personal helicopter to help them out!
Hmmm…I did just enjoy a nice Dominican Cohiba….you spyin on me?
8^p
hahahahahhahah
I have suffered sever dehydration a couple of times in my life and have to be very careful to stay hydrated. The Sonoran Desert is brutal this time of year through October. I agree with Hugh, the smugglers are serial killers.
yuck! on severe dehydration, jim – glad you got through OK.
did you hallucinate? thankfully i’ve never experienced the condition firsthand, but have read accounts of it – esp. in ‘death in the grand canyon’ book i am perpetually reading from. sounds like very scary stuff.
sometimes just a dog walk feels brutal – hate to know what it’s like on a real journey through the heat.
TWO FENCE(S) ARE BETTER THAN ONE?
If the Rep. Duncan Hunters original–Two Fences–construction had been completed, this shooting of a Mexican boy would never have occurred. The blame of this incident is at the feet of US Government for permitting the dismantling of the–Second Fence–and failing to finish the first fence? This is not the fault of the US Border Patrol as they are undermanned and do not have the backing of Federal troops. Even in Mexico they have Federal troops in the region of the international border. The 2006 Secure border fence was severely underfunded in closed door sessions in Washington. The 2006 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations bill that gutted the 2006 Secure Fence Act, would have been constructed for the first 854 miles of the U.S-Mexico border.
An amendment submitted by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-TX, and co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, (R-TX), for the Department of Homeland Security 2008 budget was aimed at gutting the already-approved H.R. 6061 Secure Fence Act. Sen. Hutchison in the summer 2006 had drafted S.Amdt. 2466 to H.R. 2368 (the DHS appropriations bill). “The Hutchison amendment gave DHS virtually total discretion over how and where the fence is built,” Open border activists have used their powerful influence on politicians, but the main blame must go to Sen. Hutchison, R-TX, and by Sen. Cornyn, (R-TX). The boys who were throwing rocks, would have been contained either on the Mexican side of 15 foot barrier or between the second border fence. Having to scale either fence with razor wire would have been a deterrent. If the second fence had not been trashed, it would have been similar that encloses a prison compound, constructed as a chain link fence.
The death of the youngster would have not have happened. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader was also involved in downgrading the construction of the–TWO FENCES–and will be propelled out of office in November by Sharron Angle. All the information and real facts about the illegal immigrant invasion, costs can be acquired at NUMBERSUSA website. More information about the unreleased corruption in Washington and all States can be gleaned at Judicial Watch DUMP ALL INCUMBENT LAWMAKERS!
Hola Rynski: En Espanol, por favor?
Peewee Pancho Bubba
ha! hola peewee pancho bubba,
lo siento, but there was that fateful day back in middle school where we could choose to study spanish or french for the remainder of our earthly education.
i went with the latter.
i could, perhaps, translate the letter for folks in montreal?
Ach, Montreal: One of our most favorite cities. Der Frau and I try to get up there every chance we get for the Formula 1 race.
The natives are a strange lot, one year while on the Metro, on the way back to our hotel on Crescent Street, the car was crowded, and der Frau sat bext to this old Quebec lady.
Naturally the train was full of very loud, drunkAericans, and the old lady turned to der Frau, thinking that she was a Quebec’r and started bad-Mouthing the drunks in French.
Ceryl turned to her and said, “Excuse me, Mam, but I don’t speak French.”
With that, the old bat got up in a huff and walked to another seat, all the while shaking her head and clucking her tongue.
I think that whether we’re drunk of sober, they don’t like us very much.
Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba
hahhaaha! awww, don’t base all of montreal’s opinion on one huffy, tongue-clucking old lady.
i think anyone would get a bit huffy in a train car full of drunk americans – or drunk anybody’s for that matter – hahahah.
Hello Rynski! My my my, do I detect a note of sarcasm and or snarkiness emanating from your gilded quill this am? 😉
Yeah, I’m fed up with the unending flow from down south too.
Just when you thought our latest ‘Great Depression’ might bottleneck the mass migration a bit…nah.
You do have to admire someone who would face these perils to get away from their corrupt, inequitable system. Still, it doesn’t make it right.
It’s topics like this that make me miss Lefty’s take on the subject…nah. 🙂
hiya radmax!
awww, c’mon – i don’t use sarcasm….hahah. actually, it may have started as sarcasm but it really does double as a public service announcement. maybe border patrol will get some relief from rescues if word travels swiftly that a summer desert sojourn is basically suicidal.
speaking of facing perils and suicide – i just saw a rescue notation that one guy was being chased by a bp agent and went and jumped off a cliff to get away. geesh. it has to be really bad to jump off a cliff rather than end up deported. but i agree, that still doesn’t make it right.
i miss lefty’s comments too – and updates on his chickens – hahahah.
I like how when you find backpacks and they have airline ticket stub from the days prior….
So these “poor starving people” can afford plane tickets and coyote fees…
I find that a bit odd.
ha! very interesting indeed….
Is lefty gone?
Leftfield is out of the country for a week or two. He was nice enough to let me know, because I always worry that something is going to happen to someone on here and I won’t know!!
Yep, I’m the worrier….lol
See how we all miss him? Weird….
Maybe in Cuba to see his buddy Fidel?!?
I am one that does not admire their tenacity for entering our country. What your saying is you approve of them brealking our laws. Why don’t they use that tenacity to change their government so that they won’t want to leave their wonderful country. If they want to cross in the middle of summer well that’s how the natural selection process weeds people out!
hi j rieg,
as radmax duly pointed out in an above comment, there is some sarcasm involved here. it did evolve, however, to serve as a public service announcement.
do agree that natural selection is heavily at play – to an extent. i’m starting to believe, as also pointed out above, that some folks may really not know it gets all that deathly brutal.
i do not approve of illegal entrants of any sort in any country – and i was being sarcastic with that first line.
on a somewhat related note (that doesn’t really apply here but applies in general) – i think it IS possible to admire something without necessarily approving of it.
Hey, is it just me , but if you are stupid enough to try to cross that desert frying pan in summer, then the world is should be happy your particular gene pool has evaporated. The desert may be the only thing keeping out the illegals.