VivirLatino

Meeting death while looking for a new life

16:58 H | Topics: Children - Immigration - Justice

Chasing after a new and better life above the Rio Bravo continues to prove deadly for so many immigrants, not the least of which are often children.

Three days into the journey, a U.S. Border Patrol agent spotted the group of illegal immigrants, and as the agent chased them, the Border Patrol truck hit Cruz-Torralva and his daughter, Lourdes, killing her.

Yuma County sheriff's detectives determined the death was an accident, but Cruz-Torralva was arrested on charges of endangerment. Deputies argued that he had placed the child in ``risk of imminent death'' by bringing her into the desert.

Let's get this straight, they are encarcerating this man for endangering his daughter, but in reality her death was caused by the border patrol. Well, I guess if you look at it in the sense that the border is basically a militarized war zone, that would make sense. But the fact is these people were chased and the actual "crime" was committed by the border patrol agent:

According to a report by the Yuma County Attorney's office, Cruz-Torralva and his daughter were among a dozen illegal immigrants followed by a Border Patrol agent.

After they stopped, the agent got out of his truck, heard moaning and discovered he had run over Cruz-Torralva and his daughter.

Latina blogger Elenamary talks about a similar case in which an immigrants traveling from Oaxaca suffered an accident (this time no border patrol involved) and has sent out a plea for legal aid to help the family affected by this tragedy. Please read her post to see if you might know someone who can help.

Via / Netscape News

Related

• Katie Couric Tries to Boost Sagging Ratings on the Backs of Immigrant Women (Tuesday, Apr 08 2008)
• In the Voice of Immigrant Women : They Wanted to Take Away My Baby (Tuesday, Mar 25 2008)