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These routes are usually lined with empty water jugs and other discarded items. Immigrants frequently rest or camp in the most desirable places -- under trees -- the very same places where cactus seedlings germinate. Immigrants collect wood and build small cooking fires, but these fires also cook shallow cactus roots. Trash heaps at these sites are not only unsightly but are also unsanitary and attract a variety of scavenger wildlife. Nearby water sources are often so fouled by pollution that wildlife can no longer use them. Some overnight rest stops are so heavily used that the damage is irreparable. During the rainy seasons, vehicle routes become avenues for flood waters, further increasing the resource damage."
"As a result of illegal immigrants crossing out borders, other unlawful acts do occur within the monument. Some of the illegals are armed, dangerous, and determined to complete the trip at any cost. Most often these few are smugglers and drug runners. They may drive a stolen vehicle or they may hire human "mules" to carry their contraband in homemade backpacks. Other illegals may be opportunistic, not intending harm, but the struggle is long and the temptations are numerous. Though most criminals operate after dark and in remote areas of the park, they have been apprehended in areas frequented by visitors." I can't help but wonder: If these actions had been done in one of our country's beautiful national forests, or one of our national seashores, or one of our national lakeshores, or your neighborhood parks or preserves, there would be news reports and pictures on CNN, ABC, and NBC decrying the despoiling, leading to an uprising of the American people demanding an end to the ecological destruction. But what? Since this is merely the Arizona-Mexican border and merely an arid desert, it's OK? What do you say?
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