Migrant deaths along the Mexico–United States border
Each year there are several hundred immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border of people trying to enter the United States illegally[citation needed]. The number of deaths has steadily increased since the middle 1990s with exposure (including heat stroke, dehydration, and hypothermia) being the leading cause.[citation needed]
Geographic distribution
Arizona
The Arizona Daily Star maintains a database of border deaths recorded by the Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise and Yuma County medical examiners between summer 2004 to September 2006.[1] They stated that, "With no official record-keeping system, the exact number of undocumented immigrants who have died along the Arizona border has never been known". The reasons and possible causes are numerous.[2]
Trends
The number of deaths of illegal immigrants along the border has increased on a regular, yearly basis since the middle 1990s, particularly in the state of Arizona[3].
Causes
The reasons and possible causes are numerous, ranging from accidental deaths and natural causes to intentional homicide.[citation needed]
Exposure
The United States-Mexico barrier was built to deter undocumented immigration in areas with historically high numbers of border crossings[citation needed]. As a consequence, undocumented immigrants have to cross the Sonoran Desert and the Baboquivari Mountain in Arizona. This has made exposure (including heat stroke, dehydration, and hypothermia) one of the leading causes of death.[citation needed]
Drowning
A common cause of immigrant border deaths is drowning in the canals, ditches and the Rio Grande.[4]
Accidents
Significant numbers of illegal immigrants die in car accidents and other accidental causes. According to a December 2006 cover story in the San Diego Reader, "...traffic fatalities involving migrants have more than doubled since 2003 as coyotes, or polleros — the guides leading migrants across the border — try other methods. On August 7, nine migrants died in a crash in the Yuma sector when the driver of a Chevrolet Suburban — in which 21 Mexicans were "stacked like cordwood"[This quote needs a citation] — lost control after crossing a Border Patrol spike strip at high speed. This year the number killed in traffic accidents during illegal crossings is about 50."[5]
In January 2003, two illegal immigrant passengers died when their truck crashed on Interstate 8 while fleeing the Border Patrol, after a spike strip punctured a tire.[6] A week after the accident, a third victim, Elvia Rumbo Leyva, died in the hospital.[7]
Close to one hundred undocumented pedestrian immigrants were struck and killed on San Diego county freeways over a five-year span in the late eighties, prompting the creation of a highway safety sign to caution drivers about migrants crossing the road.[8]
Border Patrol killings
Raúl Martínez, who is not related to the man who died, said assaults on agents have increased "dramatically" in the area where the shooting took place, about a half-mile east of the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Agents are routinely pelted with rocks, sticks, bottles and other objects that, if thrown at close range, can cause serious injury or death, Martínez said. Agents have to make split-second decisions to protect themselves. "If I was put in the same shoes of this agent, that's exactly what we'd have to do. The possibility of a rock striking me or possibly killing me — it's unfortunate situations have to come to this point," the Border Patrol spokesman said.[9]. As a case in point, a border control officer was killed on Jan 20, 2008 in Imperial Sand Dunes in California after being run over by smugglers' Hummer vehicle while trying to lay spike strips.
In May 2000, an illegal immigrant was shot in the shoulder by a border patrolman near Brownsville, Texas, and died later from the wounds.[10]
Indeed, According to Jose Luis Soberanes, president of the CNDH (National Commission of Human Rights): "the Mexican government mistreats ‘indocumentados’ that cross its territory, it keeps them in jails, in overcrowded conditions, many times without food, without medical attention and overall, violating their human rights."
Vigilante Killings
According to Time Magazine, in the first half of 2000, three immigrants have been killed and seven others have been wounded in showdowns on the U.S. side of the border.[11]
Intentional killings
It is often very difficult for the police to identify the suspects, because many groups might be involved. Authorities think that most of the more violent deaths were orchestrated by illegal immigrant smugglers, known as coyotes[citation needed].
The coyotes, a term used to describe people who smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States for profit, are infamous for the way in which they treat their clients, who are also often deemed as "human cargo." Cases of rape and beatings by coyotes have been reported by illegal immigrants who were smuggled into the United States by coyotes. The number of times this has happened is hard to ascertain since many illegal immigrants fear they would be deported if they went to the police for help, and because the coyotes often threaten to hurt family members that are still in their native countries.
On February 8, 2007, four gunmen of unknown nationality opened fire on a truck carrying illegal immigrants in the Ironwood Forest National Monument, killing two men and a 15-year-old girl.[12] The incident was covered on the front page of every major newspaper in Mexico City [dead link].
International consequences
The deaths have caused tension between the United States and other countries, particularly Mexico, from where a majority of illegal immigrants that enter the United States through the Southwestern borders come. Foreign consulates across the Southwest United States, in particular those of Latin American countries, have condemned the deaths of illegal immigrants across the border.[13]
See also
External links
- Unsafe Crossings Audio short on rape of immigrants
- Matias Documentary film about the death of a Mexican Migrant
- Death at US-Mexico border reflects immigration tensions Guardian Co UK
References
- ^ Arizona Daily Star Border Death Database
- ^ http://regulus.azstarnet.com/borderdeaths/search.php, retrieved 14 May, 2006
- ^ Eschbach, K., J. Hagan and N. Rodriguez (2001): Causes and Trends in Migrant Deaths Along the U.S.-Mexico Border 1985-1998. Center for Immigration Research, University of Houston (Executive Summary).
- ^ Eschbach, Karl; Hagan, Jacqueline; Rodriguez, Nestor; Hernandez-Leon, Ruben; Bailey, Stanley (1999), "Death at the Border", International Migration Review, vol. 33, no. 2, The Center for Migration Studies of New York
- ^ Stephen Dobyns. Border Angels. San Diego Reader, Dec 7, 2006.
- ^ Roth, Alex (2003-01-15). "Fleeing truck driver pleads not guilty in deaths of two". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
- ^ Soto, Onell R. (2003-07-17). "Woman says driver was prepared to die". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
- ^ Berestein, Leslie (2005-04-10). "Highway safety sign becomes running story on immigration". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
- ^ Thornton, Kelly (2006-01-03). "Shooting condemned by Mexico". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
- ^ McGirk, Jan (2000-05-24). "UN envoy is sent to investigate Rio Grande shootings by posses of vigilante ranchers". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Time McGirk: Border Clash. Time Magazine, June 26, 2000.
- ^ Archibold, Randal C. (2007-02-09). "Illegal Immigrants Slain in an Attack in Arizona". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
- ^ "Follow-up to the Guillermo Martínez Rodríguez case". Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores - México. 2006-01-05. Retrieved 2008-07-31.