MEXICO CITY – A Mexican government commission said Tuesday it will distribute at least 70,000 maps showing highways, rescue beacons and water tanks in the Arizona desert to curb the death toll among illegal border crossers.
The National Human Rights Commission, a government-funded agency with independent powers, denied the maps – similar to a booklet Mexico distributed last year – would encourage illegal immigration.
Officials said the maps would help those in trouble find rescue beacons and areas with cell phone reception. The maps will also show the distance a person can walk in the desert in a single day.
“We are not trying in any way to encourage or promote migration,” said Mauricio Farah, one of the commission’s national inspectors. “The only thing we are trying to do is warn them of the risks they face and where to get water, so they don’t die.”
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the U.S. Homeland Security Department, questioned whether the maps would keep those crossing the border safer.
“It is not helpful for anyone, no matter how well intended they might be, to produce road maps that lead aliens into the desolate and dangerous areas along the border, and potentially invite criminal activity, human exploitation and personal risk,” he said.
And some advocates of greater immigration control were irritated by the map announcement.
“What’s next? Are they going to buy them bus tickets to Chicago?” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based think tank. “It’s clearly a bad thing for Mexico to be encouraging illegal immigration.”
Farah said his commission was simply trying to prevent deaths and estimated that around 500 Mexicans died trying to cross the border in 2005. Many die in the desert, where summer temperatures soar above 100 degrees, and many drown while attempting to cross the Rio Grande river.
The commission plans to hang the poster-size maps in March in places where migrants will see them, such as migrant-aid groups, the commission’s offices and in Mexican border towns.
They were designed by the Tucson, Ariz.-based rights group Humane Borders, which operates some of the desert water stations.
The Rev. Robin Hoover, president of Humane Borders, said maps are needed in southern Mexico so migrants can weigh the risks before leaving home.
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