Four volunteer aid workers face up to six months in jail for illegally going into a national wildlife refuge along the Arizona-Mexico border to leave food and water for illegal immigrants. The four women were working for No More Deaths, a group working to end the deaths of migrants crossing harsh desert conditions trying to get to the U.S.
A federal judge Friday found them guilty of entering and operating a vehicle inside the protected Cabeza Prieta refuge without a permit and leaving behind water and beans. In his ruling, the judge said the actions of the women erode the national decision to maintain the refuge in its pristine nature.
The organization blasted the ruling, arguing that making it illegal to prevent people from dying of thirst challenges our humanity.
Federal prosecutors said they are only enforcing the law and doing their job.