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No More Deaths volunteers convicted after leaving food and water for migrants in Arizona desert

Four women who left food and drink for migrants in the US desert could face jail for their actions.

The No More Deaths aid workers were found guilty on Friday of entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit as they sought to place food and water in the Arizona desert for migrants.

No More Deaths said the group had been providing life-saving aid to migrants.

They are among nine members of the organisation facing prosecution, the organisation said.

The remaining volunteers face misdemeanour charges, and are scheduled to begin trial on February 26 and March 4 of this year.

The group say 155 border crossers are known to have died since 2001 and countless more have gone missing in the “vast and remote area” south of Ajo, Arizona.

The volunteers convicted on Friday include Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick.

Hoffman was found guilty of operating a vehicle inside Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, entering the federally protected area without a permit, and leaving water jugs and cans of beans there in August 2017.

The others were found guilty of entering without a permit and leaving behind personal property.

Sentencing for each charge could include up to six months in federal prison and a fine of up to $500.

A ninth volunteer, Scott Warren, also faces charges for felony harbouring and conspiracy related to humanitarian aid work after allegedly providing food, water, beds and clean clothes to two undocumented immigrants last year.

Catherine Gaffney, a long time No More Deaths volunteer, stated: “This verdict challenges not only No More Deaths volunteers, but people of conscience throughout the country.

“If giving water to someone dying of thirst is illegal, what humanity is left in the law of this country?”

The group said that in his ruling, Judge Velasco noted that the Refuge is “littered with unexploded military ordinances, the detritus of illegal entry into the United States, and the on-road and off-road vehicular traffic of the US Border Patrol,” while also stating that the life-saving water gallons and food left by No More Deaths volunteers “erode the national decision to maintain the Refuge in its pristine nature.”