Death in the desert

Because of 12 years of insane US border policy, thousands of migrants have died trying to come to the US to work. Since last Oct. 1, at least 174 have died just along the Arizona-Mexico border. Today we had a prayer service at the spot where 35-year-old Lucrecia Dominguez Luna died - in the scorching desert 10 miles from Highway 286 and 37 miles north of the border. Her father Cesario and his friend Jose searched for her body every day for almost a month. Lucrecia's son who survived the journey helped find the spot, but he had been deported, so Cesario and Jose had to drive 64 miles from Tucson to Nogales each afternoon to show the boy photos they had taken. Eventually his descriptions of landmarks led them to the right arroyo. Before our service, Cesario (at right in photo) and Jose (at left) mixed cement with the arroyo sand, added water and set their memorial cross exactly where Lucrecia died. As we were about to leave, Cesario asked us to put our remaining water bottles at the foot of the cross for the next dehydrated migrants who would come by.

Ricardo on Thursday night