[Assam] Compassion and Law

[Dilip Deka]

It is only in America that this dilemma exists -  compassion for other human 
beings versus law and order.
When it comes to migrants from other lands, we feel soft and we should. After 
all, we all came from somewhere else seeking a better life.
It is a complex subject. Any comments?
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Buoys strung on border canal to prevent drowning      
By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press Elliot Spagat, Associated Press – 
1 hr 6 mins ago
CALEXICO, Calif. – A government agency on the front lines of the immigration 
debate has begun installing lifesaving buoys in a fast-moving canal along the 
U.S.-Mexico border where migrants drown each year as they sneak into the country 
illegally.
The debate over the lifelines has long presented authorities with a moral 
dilemma: Is it acceptable to do nothing when so many immigrants are dying in the 
water? Or do lifesaving devices lull immigrants into a false sense of security 
that they can conquer the channel while giving them extra motivation to enter 
the country illegally?
The agency that manages the canal had waffled on those questions as board 
members worried aloud that the buoys would encourage illegal immigration. But 
the Imperial Irrigation District reversed course in August and has been bolting 
105 lines across the 82-mile desert canal at a cost of $1.1 million. Crews are 
also planting 1,414 bilingual signs on canal banks that read, "Warning: 
Dangerous Water."
There was scant discussion about the sudden change of heart, but the catalyst 
appears to be a CBS "60 Minutes" report that portrayed the agency as indifferent 
and callous on the buoy issue.
The canal can pose extreme danger to people trying to swim across. Currents 
moving at 25 mph to 30 mph can be no match for immigrants who can't swim. The 
decomposing corpses of immigrants rise to the surface bloated with gases after 
days underwater expanding like balloons.
More than 500 people have drowned in the All-American Canal since the waterway 
was built in 1942 to bring Colorado River water to farms in California's 
Imperial Valley. Twelve people died in 2009. The death toll peaked at 31 in 1998 
after a Border Patrol crackdown in San Diego pushed migrants to cross in remote 
areas.
Imperial County supervising deputy coroner Charles Lucas said the bodies are 
found in "pretty horrendous" condition, so decomposed that they can't be 
recognized. Migrants who drown and are never claimed by their families are 
buried in the no-stoplight town of Holtville. There are about 400 graves at the 
back of the town's cemetery, made of single bricks and often engraved "John 
Doe."
Migrants interviewed at a shelter across the border in Mexicali, Mexico, said 
the buoy lines will have little impact on whether people cross the canal.
Juan Avalos swam across the canal in 2001 and 2004 and planned to do it again 
sometime this month with a few friends. They will use a ladder or rope to climb 
over a nearby border fence before plunging into the canal.
The canal is entirely in the United States but hugs the border, at one stretch 
only about 50 yards from the border fence.
"Anyone who knows how to swim really well is going to be fine," said Avalos, 40. 
"Anyone who doesn't swim that well may have problems. It's easy for me."
Last time, Avalos swam across with one hand held high, carrying dry clothes. 
After crossing, he walked more than a day to hop a freight train to Fresno, 
where he had a friend pick him up.
Benito Ramirez crossed the canal in 2005 by grabbing a car tire with five other 
migrants and paddling with one hand as the current took them 30 yards 
downstream. He also once saw a Border Patrol agent save a woman who was drowning 
in the canal.
"We're looking for the American dream," said Ramirez, 26. "We left behind our 
families, our communities. The goal for many is to work in the United States."
The next time Ramirez crosses the border, he plans to do it by land because his 
brother is uneasy about swimming through the treacherous canal. They believe the 
trek is worth it, regardless of how they get here; relatives tell them jobs are 
waiting at Nebraska meatpacking plants and that Pennsylvania homes and 
businesses need gardeners.
The agency began installing buoy lines every half-mile along a 23-mile 
concrete-lined portion of the canal in September, each one with 30 orange balls. 
The lines will be a mile apart along the 59-mile earthen section by March. The 
concrete section is more dangerous because water moves faster there.
The configuration of the buoys was controversial.
Some wanted the lines placed at 45-degree angles and pointed downstream toward 
Mexico. That way, anyone who grabbed a line would be pushed by the currents away 
from the U.S. and back to Mexico. 

The angled buoy plan was eventually scrapped in a victory for John Hunter, a 
suburban San Diego physicist who has been the leading advocate for the buoys. 

Hunter, whose brother Duncan pushed for tougher immigration enforcement as a 
U.S. congressman, argued that the angled lines would only be more deadly for 
migrants who are determined to make it across. The lines are being placed 
straight across. 

The irrigation district made the decision to install the buoys after board 
member Stella Mendoza faced withering criticism following the "60 Minutes" 
report. She was quoted as saying more people were likely to die without changes 
in a canal that some have dubbed "the most dangerous body of water in the U.S." 

"It would be wrong to say that coverage didn't contribute to the decision," said 
agency spokesman Kevin Kelley. 

The San Diego County Water Authority, which gets water from the canal, is 
balking at pleas to help shoulder the cost of the buoys. 

"It is a very difficult equation to come up with the right approach to this to 
improve human safety without going too far as to make it appealing to jump in," 
said Dennis Cushman, assistant general manager for the San Diego County agency. 

Maria Contreras buried her son last year after he tried to swim across the 
canal. Her athletic son was preparing to graduate high school and get married 
when she last saw him. 

"Don't do it," she said as she fought tears in the living room of her Mexicali 
home. "It's very sad to lose a child. You can't get over it. All those dreams 
are cut short." 

Queneret's body showed up two days after he drowned, his back pressed against a 
gate that catches debris flowing into one of the Imperial Irrigation District's 
hydroelectric plants. According to the coroner's report, family members told 
authorities that he helped smuggle illegal immigrants. 

The body was so badly decomposed that it couldn't be identified with 
fingerprints. Authorities showed his mother some jewelry they recovered, 
including an earring stud with a marijuana leaf. She claimed his body on his 
20th birthday.