The Consequences of a Wall: More Deaths Along AZ Border

Sixty. One hundred twenty eight. Six. Cold hard numbers reported in the Arizona Daily Star.

According to the report from the Associated Press that appeared in Thursday's Daily Star, during the first half of this fiscal year the remains of 60 migrants were found in the Southern Arizona desert; 128 bodies were found across the entire U.S./Mexican border. The article showed two border statistics, one going up while the other went down. The decrease is in the number of arrests of illegal aliens along the U.S./Mexican border, which declined significantly in Arizona and along the California border as well, as documented in an article published by the Los Angeles Times last month. But as the arrests decline another figure has risen: the number of migrants dying in an attempt to cross the border. In the first six months of this fiscal year arrests dropped 24%. Deaths rose 7%.

As quoted in the Daily Star article,the founder of the Tucson-based group Humane Borders believes deaths are on the rise as illegal immigrants travel deeper into the desert to avoid beefed up security at border crossings and the sections of the border that are now walled. "Migrants are walking into more treacherous terrain for longer periods of time," says the Reverend Robin Hoover, "and you should expect more deaths." Hoover's organization, which has provided humanitarian aid to migrants in the form of water drop points in remote sections of the desert, has been tracking the location of the bodies, and found migrants are venturing further into the desert and away from roads: "They're going around the fences, the technology and where the agents are." And the unforgiving desert claims more of them.

In Tucson, the border is not an election year issue. Our evening news and local papers report on the border almost daily: we hear the reaction of border town residents to increased security measures, the effect of the wall on communities on both sides, and when remains are found in the desert we hear that too, often from the many non profit groups in the Tucson area that deal with border issues. The Tucson-based border organization Coalicion de Derechos Humano (The Human Rights Coalition) keeps a running tally on its website's homepage chronicling the number of migrant deaths for the calendar year, as does the homepage of No More Deaths whose "Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime" posters can be seen in windows and front yards of many Tucson homes.

Americans far from the border may read that arrests are down 24% and think that's progress. And it is; nobody in this border town wants to see that number go up. But I wonder if folks in northern states hear the other statistic. Do they realize the frequency with which migrants are dying on U.S. soil? Does their local paper provide them with a database labeled "Death on the Border" like ours does? Do they hear about the migrant found dead in the Arizona desert, clutching his birth certificate to his chest so authorities would be able to identify his remains and notify his relatives? Or that 25% of the migrants who died in 2008 were women?

Cold hard numbers indeed.

Comments

[nee]

By migrant do you mean ILLEGAL ALIEN?

[azartchick]

I think some of the posters are missing the point of the article. Its not about competition for jobs or who might sue who - its about saving lives - human lives. And rational people DO care about saving lives, not just protecting their own ass. Our current border security policies are not working and people are continuing to DIE! Follow the links in the article and consider supporting changes to immigration reform that will help save lives.

"Humane Borders" proposes that "In order to convert illegal migration into legal immigration, insights of social science are needed which include program evaluation of other visa programs, the language of human values, and the measure of multiple social costs.

At a minimum, the US must achieve the provision of a legal status for those undocumented persons living in the US, provide legalized work opportunities through a new visa category, participate in economic development in migrants’ countries of origin, and generally bring more order to the border."

[QM2SS]

While I certainly agree that our border policies are in need of comprehensive reassessment I can't see how the responsibility for these unfortunate deaths belongs to us. How are we culpable for the decisions of Mexican citizens who choose to abandon their nation and their obligations to it while opting to venture, illegally, on to a foreign nations soil in opposition to its laws? This is not immigration in any form. This is an invasion of a sovereign nation by 20 million + uninvited people (the vast majority from Mexico) the likes of which the world has never seen. These law breakers are not fleeing a war torn region, nor are they being persecuted for their religious or political beliefs, nor are they escaping from under the iron hand of a despotic dictatorship. They are looking across the fence at the neighbors yard, seeing the grass is greener on the other side, and in lieu of planting their own lawn, decide to camp out in ours. The economic impact of these law breakers has overwhelmed our social services system (forcing the closing emergency rooms), filled our prisons, suppressed wages and dumbed-down the education of our children. All this while flying Mexican flags demanding their "rights".

I respectfully submit that as proud Mexican citizens it is incumbent on them to work collectively and diligently in their own country to build a nation which represents and addresses the needs of its citizens, like we fought and died for in this country.

I

[swlewis57]

Years ago, I could not get a job in a factory yet plenty of illegals were working in plain sight. I wonder which one of the successful ones crossing the desert takes the next job I try to get.

[randyjet]

This is simply stupid. It is like the lawsuits against homeowners who have pools in their backyards. They put up fences, try to keep out others, yet when somebody climbs the fence and drowns in the pool, THEY get sued! I am sure that the writer would grant the drowned persons family MILLIONS of dollars in damages. GIVE ME A BREAK! When you break the law and get killed doing it, you DON'T get any sympathy from me or any rational person.

[nee]

So true.

[QM2SS]

Perhaps you should publish your statistics in Mexico as an enlightening perspective to those who are considering crossing illegally in those areas. You could put them up against the statistics as to how many died while crossing the border legally at recognized entry points to entice immigrants to do the right and smart thing. I certainly don't wish harm to those seeking a better life, but why this is our issue or our fault is beyond me. I understand that there is a publication distributed in Mexico advising their citizens how to safely break the laws of our nation while entering illegally. An update including your statistics may be a helpful and lifesaving deterrent.

[TheGuide]

Sad. I'm glad they have water drops.