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TUCSON, Arizona – An American jury was unable to rule on a border activist on Tuesday charged with conspiring to transport and shelter migrants in a lawsuit that, according to humanitarian groups, would have far-reaching repercussions on their work.
Defense lawyers claimed that Scott Daniel Warren, a 36-year-old university geography instructor, was simply good in providing water, food and shelter to two migrants when he was arrested. in early 2018. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
But prosecutors maintained that the men were not in distress and Warren conspired to transport them and house them in a property used to provide help to migrants in an Arizona city located near the US-Mexico border.
The case unfolded as humanitarian groups claim to be under increasing scrutiny as part of President Donald Trump's radical immigration policies.
Outside the courthouse, Warren thanked his supporters and criticized the government's efforts to crack down on the number of immigrants arriving in the United States.
"Today, it is more than ever necessary for local residents and humanitarian aid volunteers to show solidarity with migrants and refugees, and we must also stand up for our families, our friends and our neighbors. in the very country most threatened by the militarization of our border communities. "Warren said.
Glenn McCormick, a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Arizona, declined to say whether Warren would be the subject of another lawsuit. The judge set a July 2 hearing on the state of defense and prosecution.
Warren is one of nine members of the No More Deaths humanitarian aid group, charged with crimes related to their work. But he is the only one to face charges of crime.
In West Texas, a county attorney was arrested earlier this year after stopping his car on a dark road to retrieve three young migrants who had reported him. Teresa Todd was detained briefly and federal agents searched her cell phone.
Border activists say they are worried about what they see as a progressive criminalization of humanitarian action.
Warren said his case could set a dangerous precedent by broadening the definition of transportation and homelessness crimes to include people simply seeking to help border workers desperately in need of water or water. other necessities.
Warren and other No More Deaths group volunteers were also targeted earlier this year in separate federal crime cases after leaving water, canned food and other supplies. intended for migrants who were crossing the Cabeza Prieta national refuge in southern Arizona.
In Warren's crime case, the defense team chaired by Greg Kuykendall claimed that Warren could not, in good conscience, refuse two migrants who had recently crossed the desert to enter the United States.
The jurors said Monday that they could not reach a consensus on the charges against Warren, but a federal judge told them to continue to deliberate. They were still deadlocked on Tuesday and were eventually fired.
Thousands of migrants have died crossing the border since the mid-1990s, when increased control measures drove migrant smuggling into Arizona's burning deserts.
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