For migrants in remote areas of southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, carrying a cellphone with a charged battery and staying in range of a cell tower can be the difference between life and death, a longstanding problem that was brought back into focus last week by a report from ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-based humanitarian aid groups.
The problem is of renewed importance after the remains of 227 migrants were found across Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ last year, more than any year since the crisis of migrant deaths surged two decades ago. The crisis has claimed the lives of more than 3,400 migrants whose remains were recovered since 2001, and an unknown number who died but whose remains were never found.
Dropped calls, dead batteries
Just in the last month, the remains of 16 migrants were found in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, according to records compiled by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner and the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥-based aid group Humane Borders.
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The report released last week by No More Deaths and the Coalición de Derechos Humanos drew on hundreds of calls to a migrant crisis line in 2015 and 2016, as well as nearly 2,200 audio recordings of 911 calls transferred by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department to the Border Patrol from 2016 to 2018. The authors also interviewed officials with the Sheriff’s Department and the Border Patrol and drew on years of experience as humanitarian volunteers in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.
The report details numerous problems with cellphones, such as migrants not being able to afford a phone, frequent dropped calls, failing batteries, nonexistent cellphone coverage and a lack of effective search-and-rescue efforts when migrants are able to reach 911.
“Twenty-year-old Juan Carlos fell ill and became lost in the West Desert of Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥,†according to one example in the report. “He called 911 in the middle of the night from his Mexican cellphone and he also called his parents.â€
The case notes for the call read “then his phone stopped answering, it appeared to be out of battery.†His family and humanitarian volunteers searched the area and found his body.
“Fifty-five-year-old Jorge disappeared somewhere on the Tohono O’odham Reservation in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. Crisis Line volunteers noted that his mother “did not know if Jorge called 911. She was going to ask him when the call dropped. He was never heard from again,†according to another example.
At the Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday, the clear plastic bags that hold items found near migrants’ remains in 2020 showed some migrants traveled with flip phones or smartphones, but many only had a few coins, rosaries, or papers with phone numbers written on them.
Even if they all carried cellphones, the coverage maps for several of the largest cell carriers show large holes in coverage in the desert west of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, including in the border-crossing corridor that runs through the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge where the remains of more than 300 migrants were found since 2001.
“Move heaven and earth†in searches
In their experience dealing with the Sheriff’s Department and the Border Patrol, 911 calls are handled in much the same way now as they were during the period of the audio recordings, said Parker Deighan, a volunteer with No More Deaths.
When calls for help are transferred to the Border Patrol, they are handled by an “aggressive enforcement agency†that has “no accountability as to what the outcomes of these cases are,†she said.
No More Deaths is part of a lawsuit filed last week in federal court in New York to compel the Border Patrol to release records showing how the agency responds to distress calls from migrants.
With regard to the Sheriff’s Department, “it really appears that they have just washed their hands of their responsibility to people who are lost and missing in their jurisdiction,†Deighan said.
The Border Patrol pointed the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ on Friday to a statement issued earlier in the week, which said the agency “remains committed to humanely securing the southern border†and “devotes the totality of its force to finding lost or injured individuals while also balancing the border security mission with which they are charged.â€
Sister Norma Pimentel, one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2020, says migrant families at the U.S. border are weary and worried about whether they'll have an opportunity to enter the United States.
The agency regularly issues news releases showing agents rescuing migrants in distress in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ desert, including a rescue Wednesday of a migrant who called the Tohono O’odham Police Department and said she was alone and unable to walk in the Baboquivari Mountains.
The call was routed to the Border Patrol about 2:30 a.m. and agents searched in the dark, using her GPS coordinates, until they found her about 7 a.m., according to the news release. She was airlifted from the mountains and taken to the Border Patrol checkpoint on Highway 286, where she was treated for her injuries until an ambulance arrived.
“CBP components will move heaven and earth to find someone who is lost, injured or unable to continue,†ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Sector interim chief John Modlin said in the news release. “All too often, like today, migrants are wearing camouflage and avoiding being seen until it’s too late. Luckily this woman was able to call for help, and we were able to determine her location.â€
“Life safety is the priorityâ€
Last week’s report by the aid groups said agents often fail to search for missing migrants and when they do search, they do not provide public information about the outcome. Agents also “routinely obstruct community-based efforts to locate and rescue the missing.â€
The Star asked the Sheriff’s Department why 911 calls from migrants were transferred to the Border Patrol, rather than treated in the same way as a lost hiker, which often involves large-scale rescue efforts.
The department said that “regardless of immigration status, lost-person calls are handled in the same fashion; life safety is the priority.â€
The department transfers calls to the Border Patrol when callers indicate they are in lost in a “geographical location where Border Patrol could be the closest resource,†such as remote areas of unincorporated Pima County, according to the statement. The department maintains control of the call after they transfer it to the Border Patrol and checks the status within several hours of the initial call.
When the call comes from an area where deputies are the closest resource, the department takes the lead in the search and rescue, which involves medically trained personnel and air assets if needed.
Working together, the combined resources of the Sheriff’s Department and the Border Patrol “provide a wealth of capabilities†in remote areas of the county, according to the statement.
“Regardless of where the lost person is from, what language they speak, or the phone number they call from, it is still a life and our top priority,†PCSD said.
Measures can reduce deaths
Deighan cast doubt on whether 911 calls were handled the same regardless of the person’s immigration status. Volunteers have seen cases where the Sheriff’s Department transferred calls to the Border Patrol when deputies learned the incident involved a migrant, even when the calls came from “very close to town,†she said.
Volunteers also have seen the department mobilize resources for searches in remote areas that involved lost hikers, rather than migrants, said Sophie Smith, a No More Deaths volunteer and co-author of the report.
Expanding the search-and-rescue efforts for migrants could require substantially more resources to law enforcement agencies in charge of search and rescue, either from local, state or federal governments.
The aid groups support any effort to save lives and all possible avenues for families to find help for their loved ones, but they are “calling for the reversal of polices that are putting people in harm’s way to begin with,†Smith said.
“I think that dealing with the root causes that are putting people out into the desert with no cellphone reception and leading them to die on U.S. soil because of blisters on their feet, that is what needs to be addressed, more than beefing up law enforcement,†she said.
Smaller measures that could help migrants in distress include 911 dispatchers tracing more calls from migrants in distress, Deighan said. Authorities also could reach out to cell providers to get coordinates to where a person last turned on their phone, but that is rare in cases of migrants in distress.
“Those are things that are pretty standard in cases of lost hikers that we’re not seeing in these cases,†Deighan said.
In terms of filling holes in cellphone coverage, Deighan said adding towers on the Cabeza Prieta wildlife refuge “would probably be huge†for helping find migrants, “but it’s not going to solve this crisis and it definitely is a band-aid solution.â€
More effective steps would be to remove checkpoints, walls, and surveillance technology that force migrants to walk through the desert for days or weeks, she and Smith said.
Photos of the U.S. – Mexico border fence
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A dog stands on a road commonly used by Border Patrol near Slaughter Ranch Museum Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A border monument on the Mexico side of the border seen east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge sits on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A bull and cow graze near the site of new wall construction east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The border seen stretching from hills east of Douglas into the Guadalupe Mountains Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Flowers grow around border fencing near the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Construction equipment set up at the site of new border wall construction on the US/Mexico border east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A Border Patrol tower on the hills east of Douglas Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Memorials place on graves at Julia Page Memorial Park in Douglas which sits along the U.S./Mexico border Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A car drives through Douglas on a road parallel to the U.S./Mexico border wall Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The Slaughter Ranch homestead Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A lake on the Slaughter Ranch Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

A toy rocking horse placed on the side of East Geronimo Trail with a sign advertising five minute pony rides for 25 cents Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Highway 2 in Mexico winds its way to Agua Prieta Thursday, Sept. 27, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The vehicle in a ditch was driven through the international border fence in Agua Prieta, Mex., into Douglas, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in July 1987.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

Mexican citizens run back into Agua Prieta, Mexico through a hole in the border fence at Douglas, Ariz., after the U.S. Border Patrol scared them back across the border in 1997.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry on May 1, 2018, in Douglas, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Douglas, Ariz.

The Douglas, Ariz., border crossing in 1968.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

U.S./Mexico border fencing next to a old church building in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Old border posts line the U.S./Mexico line near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

A Soal Off Roading sticker placed on a U.S./Mexico border post near Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Mountains in Santa Cruz County seen from Duquesne Road between Nogales and Lochiel seen Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

A monument in Lochiel marking where Fray Marcos De Niza entered ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Brothers Ramon and Ed De La Ossa mend fencing on their family's ranch in Lochiel after moving cattle Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Ed De La Ossa mends fencing on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. The ranch which used to span both sides of the U.S./Mexico border has been in the family for three generations.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

Ed De La Ossa moves cattle on his family's ranch in Lochiel Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

U.S. Customs inspector Helen Mills, right, greets Mexican counterpart Raymundo Aguirre Castillo at the U.S. - Mexican border station at Lochiel, Ariz., in 1979.
U.S. – Mexico border near Lochiel, Ariz.

The US Customs building, right, at Lochiel, Ariz., is just a short distance away from the international border in May 1972. For ten years, Mills has been managing the port of entry, which is mostly made up of five houses, a school and an vacant church, inspecting vehicles as they head into the US. During the week, from Monday through Saturday, Mills opens the border gate from 8 am to 10 am and from 4 pm to 6 pm. On Sunday the gate is open from 8 am to 6 pm. In that time barely a dozen vehicles make their way across the border but it is a major convenience to the local residents.Â
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Pedestrians walk to the Nogales port of entry Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

A pedestrian walks across North Grand Avenue in Nogales near the U.S./Mexico port of entries Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer R. Hernandez uses a density-measuring device on the rear quarter-panel of a Mexico-bound passenger vehicle at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Nov. 2, 2016, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

A Customs and Border Protection officer makes a visual check of a man's identification at the DeConcini Port of Entry on Feb. 15, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. Busts of fraudulent border-crossing documents and the use of someone else's documents plummeted in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and the rest of the border in the past decade.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Northbound commercial truck traffic lined up for inspection at the Mariposa Port of Entry on March 28, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

In the commercial lanes a semi truck stops between the lanes looking for the first available opening at the Mariposa Port of Entry in 2015.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Javier Castillo inspects a north-bound Mexican tractor-trailer at the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Department of Transportation's inspection facility at the Mariposa Port of Entry on Sept. 19, 2017, in Nogales, Ariz. ADOT's International Border Inspection Qualification program, led by ADOT's Border Liaison Unit, teaches commercial truck drivers what to expect during safety inspections when they enter ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ ports of entry.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

A Border Patrol truck parked near the commercial port of entry in Nogales.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

An illegal alien scales the U.S.-Mexico fence back toward Sonora after a Nogales Police Department officer, right, spotted him west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Kory's, a store catering to wedding, quincea–era and formal gowns, located at 15 N Morley Ave, Nogales, Ariz., sits katty corner to the Morley Gate Border Station on January 30, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Sun shines through the U.S.-Mexico bollard fence west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Nov. 15, 2018, in Nogales, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near Nogales, Ariz.

Children from Nogales, Sonora, climb through a hole in the international border fence to trick-or-treat in Nogales, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, on Halloween in 1987.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Border monument #166 is seen on the right as construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaces old U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Construction continues on the new 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border two miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A Mexican worker rides his horse along a road south of the U.S./Mexican border wall on his way back into Sonoyta Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

New paneling of border wall seen about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Old mesh paneling is removed in preparation for new wall to be built about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A construction worker prepares cables to lift a piece of the 30-foot tall bollard fence along the U.S./Mexico border fence two miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Border Patrol Officers to the side of a worksite about three miles east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry where new border wall is being installed seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Old wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Raised wall east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A work site east of the Lukeville/Sonoyta port of entry seen from the Mexico side of the border line Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Normandy fencing placed against a section of border fence west of Lukeville Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A semi passes by Quitobaquito Springs as it drives along Highway 2 in Mexico Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

An area referred to as "flood gate" along the U.S./Mexico border near Sasabe, Ariz. is on the list of the Department of Homeland Security’s priorities for building a border wall, but no funding has been allocated yet. September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

Vehicle barriers mark the U.S./Mexico border within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A portion of the U.S./Mexico bollard border fence ends on the right and vehicle barriers begin within the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Integrated Fixed Tower, left, near Sasabe, Ariz. on September 16, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near Sasabe and Lukeville, Ariz.

The new 30-foot tall bollard fence that replaced old U.S./Mexico border fence can be seen on the left. It's located about miles east of the Lukeville, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ port of entry on October 8, 2019. Photo taken from Sonoyta, Sonora, Mexico.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A US Border Patrol vehicle seen next to a section of new 30 foot high wall along the US/Mexico border near the commercial port of entry in San Luis Thursday, Aug. 8, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Old fencing is taken down along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A security guard stand in a construction site where a new fence will be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico, Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Old fencing against new fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Crews prepare ground for a new fence to be placed on the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Vehicles in line to enter the United States from San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

New fencing along the United States/Mexico border seen from the northern end of San Luis, Mexico on Aug. 7, 2019.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A new section of fencing on the U.S. - Mexico border in California, just west of Yuma, Ariz., in 1993.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

Sand drifts through the "floating fence" that marks the border running through the dunes, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A sign warns of the dangers of trying to swim the All-American Canal just north of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, west of San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

A long string of lights illuminate the no-man's land between the triple fencing of the Mexican border, Wednesday, July 25, 2018, San Luis, Ariz.
U.S. – Mexico border near San Luis, Ariz.

The border fence comes to an abrupt end at the currently dry Colorado River, Thursday, July 26, 2018, west of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora.
Contact reporter Curt Prendergast at 573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com or on Twitter @CurtÃÛèÖÖ±²¥Star