Death at the Border

Abstract

"Debates about United States border control policies have generally ignored the human costs of undocumented migration. We focus attention on these costs by estimating the number, causes and location of migrant deaths at the southwest border of the United States between 1993 and 1997.... Deaths from hyperthermia, hypothermia and dehydration increased sharply from 1993 to 1997 as intensified border enforcement redirected undocumented migration flows from urban crossing points to more remote crossing areas where the migrants are exposed to a greater risk of death."

In Harm’s Way: Family Separation, Immigration Enforcement Programs and Security on the US-Mexico Border

“…Previous enforcement efforts in the 1990s relied on the natural and physical hazards of the desert to deter future crossings by driving the flow of people into the harshest terrain along the US-Mexico border (Andreas 2000;Nevins 2002). This approach greatly increased the lethality of unauthorized migration but did little to stem the flow of people and deter future crossings (Eschbach et al 1999;Cornelius 2001;Cornelius 2005;Cornelius and Lewis 2007;Nevins and Aizeki 2008). The CDS actively seeks to prevent and deter reentry through increased prosecution, incarceration, and other strategies designed to make the experience so difficult and costly that migrants will not return.…”

Expectations and motivations of Hondurans migrating to the United States

“…Migrants, aware of the labour demand north of the US-Mexico border, encounter a myriad of dangers during the crossing, including suffering of dehydration or hypothermia in desert areas, getting lost or losing one's children, being robbed, raped, apprehended by border patrol officers, or even killed by gangs, border bandits or coyotes 2 (Chavez, 1998;Hagan, 1998;Menjivar, 2000). Although the exact number of casualties is hard to ascertain, between 1993 and 1997, more than 1600 deaths were recorded in the United States-Mexico border region due to illegal border crossing (Eschbach, 1999). More recent statistics point to an increased death rate associated with greater border surveillance.…”

Contrôle des frontières

“…(6) . Selon l'étude d'Eschbach et al, du début de la nouvelle politique frontalière en 1994, à la fin de sa première phase en 1997, le nombre de décès était passé de 192 à 224 (7) . Ensuite, dans le secteur frontalier de Tucson, le nombre de morts fit un bond, excédant désormais 100 pour 2000 (8) .…”