The Border Patrol agents raided a humanitarian aid group’s base came in Arizona desert on Thursday and took four men into their custody who had crossed the border illegally, officials with customs and border security said.

Volunteers of the group, “No More Deaths,” which gives water and first-aid care to migrants, said the men were from Mexico and were taking shelter at the camp. The camp had been raided in the past, but this was the first time that border agents have used a search warrant to gain entry, the group said in a statement.

Despite having a history of tense relations with the group, the agency had previously abided by an informal, Obama-era agreement allowing migrants to seek medical help at the camp without fear of arrest.

John File, who is the group’s founder said that the raids were “clearly a strategy by the border agents to cripple and even make moot the lifesaving mission of a medical facility they had agreed to respect.”

According to a statement released by the ‘Customs and Border Protection’ on Monday said that the agents were left with no choice after the group’s volunteers refused to let them question the four men who entered the United States illegally.

“Tucson Sector Border Patrol reached out to No Más Muertes camp representatives to continue a positive working relationship and resolve the situation amicably,” the statement said, referring to the group by its name in Spanish. “The talks, however, were unsuccessful.”

In the past, the volunteers have accused border agents of vandalizing the water and food supplies they leave for migrants.  

In 2011, a video footage captured an agent kicking five jugs of water.

The interim chief, Mr. Chavez said the group is “criminal organization, these ruthless smugglers, who these people are turning their lives over to that is putting them in the desert.”

In the statement released on Thursday, Customs and Border Protection noted that the dangers of illegally crossing the border and encouraged anyone who needs help to “call 911 immediately as delays could result in loss of life.”

Boeing to shift hundreds of Jobs to Arizona

AMandeep