F-ed up story of the day: Man sentenced after leaving water bottles for immigrants

[armyowalgreens]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/08/13/arizona.immigrant.advocate/index.html

(CNN) -- An Arizona man caught leaving water bottles in the desert for illegal immigrants has been sentenced to 300 hours of community service and a year of probation, an aid group said.

Walt Staton, a member of the group No More Deaths, left full water bottles in December in Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge for the illegal immigrants who routinely pass through the 18,000-acre refuge, according to court documents.

A judge sentenced him Tuesday to 300 hours of picking up trash on public property and a year of probation, No More Deaths said in a written statement. He is also banned from the refuge during that time, the group said.

Although the case involved only a misdemeanor charge, both sides used the divisive issue of illegal immigration in their arguments; Staton's lawyer argued that Staton's actions were humanitarian, but the government said otherwise.

[Bluerthanblue]

1. this is almost surreal....

and such an incredibly sad statement about what 'we' have become.

Kudo's to you Walt Staton my brother and my friend.


k&r

[TiredOldMan]

2. Our Citizens Need Work.

Helping someone break the law is still helping someone break the law. Illegal aliens steal jobs from citizens and LEGAL immigrants. You might have noticed. The people here in our country are losing their homes and jobs all over the place.

I think it should be a misdemeanor to help people steal jobs.

[armyowalgreens]

3. I think you miss the point entirely...

It's now illegal to help save people from dying in the desert.

[TommyO]

5. Giving people water should not be construed as helping other people break the law

Go back to your little right-wing enclave, I'm sure there's a bottle of Perrier waiting for you.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Helping human beings survive should never be a crime

This is incredibly shameful.

[titoresque]

11. Water

He was giving another human being WATER!!!! :banghead:

[surrealAmerican]

12. It's the people who employ illegal immigrants you should be ...

... upset with here, not the people who keep them from dieing of dehydration.

[AllieB]

13. Shame on you. How fucking Christian.

They're human beings! :wtf:

[AuntPatsy]

14. Reality check, the jobs those people are offered, americans WONT take..fact...

[Better Today]

19. Not a whole fact though, we won't take those jobs at those wages.

[AuntPatsy]

22. Well then say thank you to your repbulican friends for those that run

that particular little club do not like paying living wages to americans which is why they keep closing down offices and moving the work overseas in order to pay those low wages....

Thats who you fight for you know.....and they don't give a damn about you..pretty sad really

[Better Today]

25. I think you're confusing me with someone else, or are you using "you" in a general way?

I'm not sure where you get the idea that because I recognize that the hiring of slave labor immigrants and the outsourcing of jobs to slave labor countries lowers the value of all of our positions in the economy. I do not blame the immigrants and I too would leave water for them and more if I were in a place to do such. I'm just commenting that the "fact" mentioned was only half true. Surely the corporations should be charged with hiring illegals, taxed for outsourcing, etc. . . it shouldn't fall on the individual worker, legal or otherwise.

[kelly1mm]

37. Even in today's economy you still think that is the case?

I don't know anymore. I see hundreds of applications submitted for minimum wage summer park clean up jobs (3) in our community.

[Happyhippychick]

15. How can an illegal immigrant "steal" a job? Oh, you mean he can be exploited for inhumane wages!

Gotcha!

[Better Today]

21. Exactly right. They are willing to work for less, making our labor worth less as well,

to the point we either work for exploitative inhumane wages, or we don't work.

[AuntPatsy]

24. and if they dont come here to work for low wages, well, the big boys just

move the operations to their countries in order to utilize them....true americans huh? I think those at freeprville are one day going to wake up but it will be too late...you were fooled into believe the dems were the boogie man when in fact he was your so called friend..

[Better Today]

28. Miss Patsy, please stop with the slurring assumptions. If you want to rant, just do so, I'm

not agreeable to being your target when if you actually read what is written, you'd find we are essentially in agreement. If you want to rant for no reason at non-existent disagreements, perhaps you should head to freeperville have a good senseless brawl, I hear they like that stuff.

[AuntPatsy]

33. Well I'll be, never considered my post to yours to be ranting...I feel it is more of

a counter post to your assertion that illegals steal your jobs...it is simply not true..but if you believe it to be..do you consider your posts ranting as well?

[Better Today]

39. I never said that they steal our jobs. As I said, I think you are confusing me with someone else.

[kelly1mm]

41. You mean dems like President Clinton who fought so hard against

NAFTA? Both parties are controlled by the corporations now.

[Happyhippychick]

27. Actually there are laws in place that prevent us from having to work for exploitative wages.

The employers are the ones breaking the law by paying below this level.

[Better Today]

29. Absolutely, and punishment through HEAVY fines would do much to

pay for things like healthcare, extended unemployment benefits, and I have no doubt a host of other things.

[kath]

40. The employers should be SEVERELY punished -

I'm thinking maybe $50K or so for each illegal hire.

Enforce the laws, and have our govt stop propping up corrupt governments in Mexico and Central America, and the flood of illegal immigrants northward will slow significantly.
And let's have a living wage law in the US, and decent labor laws, like in developed countries (like those pinko commie Yurpeens).

[armyowalgreens]

42. The law doesn't do enough. It simply mandates a bare minimum slave wage.

[Boojatta]

17. How many people who hire illegal immigrants have been...

sentenced to 300 hours of community service and a year of probation?

[Better Today]

23. Yep punish those employers and corporations, not the immigrants.

[BlooInBloo]

18. Even if you don't last here, there are lots of DU nativists who agree with you.

[Boojatta]

20. Did you mean "Our Citizens Need Water...

... and there's not enough water for both citizens and non-citizens"?

[PA Democrat]

31. And I think it should be a misdemeanor to sit back and watch someone die of thirst.

At the very least, I was taught it was a sin against humanity.

[imdjh]

34. Not only is it not a crime- but if there is only one bottle of water you can take it away from....

... someone else even if it means he's going to die.

Same thing in a lifeboat situation. You and Joe get tossed overboard and there is only one lifejacket. If you can take it away from him, and if you do, and if he drowns because you did, you aren't guilty of a crime.

[PA Democrat]

38. **"should be"** My post was a play on words in response to this comment

"I think it should be a misdemeanor to help people steal jobs" by TiredOldMan. ;)

[panader0]

4. That is local here. I read about it the other day.

The guy had already voluntarily picked up trash left by illegals, real trash. Then he gets charged with littering for leaving water jugs. Many have died this year and every year around here, a 21 year old man from Central America died aweek ago just a few miles from my house after wandering for 6 days without food or water.

[NYC_SKP]

6. sad nt

[loyalkydem]

7. You know what

If I'm going to get arrested for helping someone then screw it. I'll help them. I'm not going to let a man or a woman or a child die because of fear that I might get arrested.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. OMG

Helping humans survive is a crime?

What Would Jesus Think?

[mrs_p]

9. he's a hero

[mnhtnbb]

16. "Give me your tired, your poor"--unless they're Hispanic coming through the desert--

then they can fuckin' die.

What a sorry situation.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

[Happyhippychick]

30. This.

[imdjh]

35. The US admitted a million LEGAL immigrants in 2008.

[mnhtnbb]

43. And this is how they qualify

The law provides for three, general immigrant categories: family reunification, employment sponsorship, and humanitarian cases (refugee and asylum adjustments).
The majority of people who wish to obtain lawful permanent residence or a "green card" in the United States qualify because they are a family member of a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, the employee of a US company, or a refugee or asylum seeker who has been granted protection in the US.


http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?ID=414



Of course, it was the French who wrote that inscription. Maybe it was romanticized?

:sarcasm:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

26. I did something.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6299950

[unapatriciated]

32. What was the actual charge

[imdjh]

36. littering i think