Roberto Martinez dies at 72; longtime advocate for Mexican migrants’ rights

Roberto Martinez, an advocate for migrants’ rights at the U.S.-Mexico border, died Wednesday morning at his daughter’s home in Chula Vista. He was 72.

Martinez died of complications from diabetes, friends said. He suffered three strokes over the last several weeks.

He is best known as the former director of the American Friends Service Committee in San Diego. He retired from the Quaker social action organization in 2001 and later moved to Murrieta.

Martinez appeared at dozens of marches, demonstrations and forums, speaking on behalf of migrants trying to cross the border. He cataloged alleged abuses by border agents and filed regular complaints against U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He testified before Congress about the effect of the crackdown at the border.

Supporters praised him for his tireless fight for accountability by government agencies. Critics said he was too quick to blame the federal government for anything that happened along the border and too credulous regarding migrants who stood to gain from alleging abuse.

During the course of his work, friends said, Martinez was arrested and received death threats. His views were attacked in the media, and his family was targeted by hate groups.

Martinez was born in San Diego to Mexican American parents in January 1937. His confrontations with the Border Patrol dated to the 1950s, when he was a youth in San Diego and said agents tried to deport him.

His activism began about two decades later when he demanded action by police and school officials after three Latino children in his neighborhood were beaten by white youths.

“I learned that by organizing and taking a stand and not backing off, you could accomplish something,” he told The Times in 2001.

Martinez, who earned an associate’s degree in graphic arts at San Diego City College, worked as a technical illustrator and as an engineer at an aircraft company before turning to full-time advocacy in the late 1970s.

Christian Ramirez, national coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee, said this week that he lost a mentor and friend who had a keen sense of justice and a deep commitment to human rights.

“It’s going to be a terrible loss, not only for the service committee, but for the whole border community,” he said. “Voices like his are urgently needed at the border.”

Martinez is survived by his wife, Yolanda, nine children, 23 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held at Humphrey Mortuary in Chula Vista at 5 p.m. Tuesday. A Mass will be said at the St. Jude Shrine of the West Church in San Diego at 10 a.m. Wednesday, and he will be buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego.

anna.gorman@latimes.com