Dangerous Dilemma for Illegal Immigrants

Oct. 24, 2007— -- An estimated 2 million illegal immigrants live and work deep in the burning California hills. Many of them have no homes to lose — their nights are spent in sleeping bags adjacent to the fields they pick when the sun rises.

It's their lives that are in danger.

Enrique Morones runs Border Angels, a San Diego humanitarian group that has been collecting food at neighborhood parks, handing out medical masks to filter the ash and bringing paramedics to fields now surrounded by thick, acrid smoke.

"We're saying, 'Hey, this fire's coming. You've got to get out. We'll provide transportation,' but they want to stay close to their work, and it's a very desperate situation," Morones said.

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At a tomato field in rural Rancho Santa Fe, on the border with San Diego, Morones found himself in the middle of a dilemma. The homes on the city side of the street were under mandatory evacuation orders, but the farm just across the street was not. Because of that, the owner of the field wanted his workers to keep picking.

Lives in the Balance

"Why are these guys that own this land making these guys still work?" Morones said. "It's inhumane, these conditions."

The workers were afraid that if they left, even for their own safety, they would lose their jobs when the fire threat is over.

A desperate call to the Mexican consulate was made, and two diplomats arrived to try and convince the workers their jobs was not worth their lives. But for most who came here illegally, across a desert, that decision was made long before they left Mexico.

"That fire is approaching. … If the winds pick up and that fire comes, we are going to lose lots of people," Morones said.

It's a complicated situation for the undocumented workers, who fear shelters and checkpoints staffed by authorities that in normal times mean an instant trip back across the border.

"Somebody just called me and said there's a checkpoint with the border patrol. They are checking immigration status," said Morones. "I hope that's not true."

But in fact, the federal government says it has suspended immigration raids in the San Diego area since the fires broke out. And the border patrol says that it has not stepped up enforcement and that its No. 1 job right now is safety and rescue.

One of the wildfires, the Harris fire, raged right along the border and more than 50 illegals have reportedly turned themselves in there, surrendering to border patrol agents for their own safety.

One man asked for help and a firefighter handed him a candy bar and water.

Off the Field

"We're law enforcement," said senior Border Patrol Agent Da'mon Foreman. "We are here to keep the peace, assist the communities, just like the police department is, the FBI is. We're all working together, so during a crisis we always come together to assist our communities."

Back at the tomato field, the owner agreed to allow his workers to leave as the smoke thickened. They were loaded into vans and taken to shelters, hoping the field would still be there when the fires die down, along with their jobs.

"Right now we're trying to save people's lives, all of us are," said Morones. "Let's make sure that people are OK. We cannot have people not going to a shelter or not coming out into the open because they're scared that immigration will be there. Right now what we've gotta do is make sure that these people are OK."

To find out more about Morones' organization, visit Border Angels or call (619) 269-7865.

Lauren Pearle contributed to this report.