blog 11

This review of my book appeared in the Arizona Daily Star on Sunday, December 1, 2019.

'No More Deaths: Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime, Saving Lives of Migrants' by Sue Lefebvre.

Sue Lefebvre. $27.50.

For anyone who would ask why a respected Arizona State University geography instructor would risk going to prison for aiding migrants lost in the desert, this new book has an answer. At the writing of this review, Scott Warren has been found not guilty, in federal court in Tucson for acts of conscience. In 'No More Deaths,' Sue Lefebvre, wife of Gene Lefebvre, one of the founders of the humanitarian aid group of that name, chronicles its 15-plus years of existence, and Warren is one of many gutsy workers who stand up for social justice. In 2004, horrified by the spike in migrants dying in the Southern Arizona desert, a group of faith leaders founded No More Deaths. Since then, hundreds of volunteers have joined them. They map the desert, leave water and food along trails, seek migrants in distress, and search for lost crossers and dead bodies; they treat injured, hungry, and threatened deportees; they document abuses, return confiscated belongings to the deported, and assist family contact.

Others have written about their personal experiences with humanitarian aid in the Arizona sector, but Lefebvre's is comprehensive, incorporating the efforts and voices of many local social justice activists.

At 646 pages, it's hardly a beach read, but it's interesting, and it makes a significant contribution to the conversation about social justice and immigration in the U.S.

- Christine Wald-Hopkins

​Thanks, Christine, Sue