Immigrant of the Day: Rafael Hernandez (Mexico)

Rafael Hernandez knows the hardships of trekking across desert and mountains to enter the United States from Mexico as a migrant. Hernandez did it with his wife and daughter 21 years ago. Now, as a legal U.S. resident, Hernandez and his band of volunteers -- the Desert Angels -- patrol both sides of the Mexican-California border near San Diego looking for lost migrants and leaving water, clothing and food at strategic desert locations to help people on their journey.

Hernandez, a construction equipment mechanic, is the director of Angeles del Desierto, Spanish for "desert angels," which he founded eight years ago. The "angels" are 60 volunteers, many from San Diego Catholic parishes, who take turns with the 52-year-old Hernandez patrolling the borderland two to three times a week. In groups of 10 to 15 people, they patrol a swatch of desert covering a radius of 60 miles and extending into both countries. Sometimes, the people they find are dead. Hernandez has said that he often finds people – on average about 10 to 15 a week – who are badly injured or in a weak condition. These people are urged to go to a hospital if they are on the Mexican side and Hernandez offers to take them. If they are on the U.S. side, Hernandez said that he tries to convince them to let him call the U.S. Border Patrol and let the Border Patrol take them to the hospital before deporting them.

The L.A. Times reported earllier this week that Hernandez and the Desert Angels were searching for a migrant who disappered during the fires in San Diego a couple of weeks ago. The migrant, a native of the Mexican state of Chiapas, had lived in the United States and was re-crossing to reunite with family members. Ultimately, Hernandez and his fellow searchers found the migrant 's body.

Thanks to Professor Theresa Hernandez (University of Houston) for suggesting Rafael Hernandez to me as a possible Immigrant of the Day.

KJ