Montini: Why would Border Patrol agents destroy lifesaving water jugs left for migrants?

You see the videos and you have to ask the question: Do some members of the U.S. Border Patrol want illegal border crossers to die?

Why else would they destroy water supplies left in the desert by the Tucson-based humanitarian group No More Deaths?

According to a report compiled by the group, and their accompanying videos, destruction of what would could be lifesaving water at makeshift aid stations – by  border agents – is “widespread and routine.”

A Border Patrol spokesman says agents within Tucson sector are told not to remove or destroy water stations or food left along trails, adding that those who disobey could face "corrective action."

The agents in the videos don’t seem to concerned about that, which makes you wonder about the culture of the organization.

3,500 gallons of water was destroyed

Patrolling the border is a difficult, dangerous and frustrating job. We all know that. Some very bad, very dangerous individuals make the crossing. But so, too, do a large number of desperate men, women and children looking (not necessarily in the best way) for a better life.

Either way, is destroying water for someone potentially dying of thirst a good thing? Ever?

INVESTIGATION: 'Mass disaster' at border, little care in D.C.

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"We've had video footage, and still people were saying, 'Maybe it's just a few rogue agents,' " said Kate Morgan, abuse document coordinator for No More Deaths. "We really wanted to show that this is systemic, that this is part of a larger policy, and we wanted to offer people raw numbers to show that."

No More Deaths says that about 10 percent of the water left in aid stations, about 3,500 gallons, was destroyed over a three-year period.

The group got clever and used a tactic employed by wildlife biologists. It set up trail cameras and got video of agents dumping and destroying the water jugs.

Make an example of 'rogue' agents

The Border Patrol says such behavior is the bad action of a few rogue agents. The folks at No More Deaths believe the problem is bigger than that.

Still, if all we’re talking about is a few rogue agents the best way to correct the problem is to make an example of those caught destroying the water jugs.

Fire them. Make it public.

It’s difficult to know exactly how many people have died crossing the border. One estimate has the number at well over 2,000 in the past 17 years. But there are many who are never found or never accounted for.

But bottom line in all this has less to do with law enforcement than with humanity, however.

Can you imagine any decent human being at a makeshift aid station emptying a water jug onto the ground in front of a person dying of thirst?

Is it less cruel, less humane, to empty that water jug before that thirsty person gets to the station?

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