Identifying migrant remains in South Texas: policy and practice

Abstract

In 2012, Texas surpassed Arizona in migrant deaths. The majority of deaths occurred in the Rio Grande Valley, specifically in Brooks County, Texas. Brooks County is one of the poorest in the state and was overwhelmed with deaths, without appropriate resources to follow the state laws pertaining to the investigation of unidentified human remains. Until 2013, most remains that were not immediately identified were buried without collecting DNA samples and the location of burials was not recorded. Our paper outlines the difficulties searching for these burials, the struggles of the families of the missing, and the collaborative approaches to facilitating identifications in South Texas. Community outreach combined with geophysical surveys guide which cemeteries are in need of exhumations. Once cemeteries are surveyed, archaeological methods are employed to exhume remains and document burials. Remains are taken to the Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State for processing, analysis, and identification efforts. Undergraduate and graduate students clean remains and wash clothing and personal effects.After skeletal analysis, all information regarding the remains, including photographs of personal effects, are uploaded to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) and a DNA sample is submitted to the University of North Texas for inclusion in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) DNA database. However, CODIS lacks DNA family reference samples from many families of the missing due to families living outside the US or because they do not feel comfortable providing a DNA sample in the presence of law enforcement. Therefore, it is necessary to work with non-governmental organizations who specialize in collecting missing persons reports and DNA samples from the families of the missing. Working collaboratively with multiple agencies, identification of migrant remains is possible.

Self‐reported levels of occupational stress and wellness in forensic practitioners: Implications for the education and training of the forensic workforce

“…This includes assisting with forensic casework consultations and/ or body donation programs through their universities, professional internships at local C/ME offices, and even responding to acute [31] and chronic [32] Although this survey provides important data on current perceptions of wellness within the forensic community, the relatively small response rates, particularly from the AAFS, warrants caution before operationalizing these findings. A notable percentage of respondents…”

Genetic identification against traffic in human beings

“…These types of problems occur at the US-Mexico border (Spradley et al, 2018), and have also been problematic in Spain. Due to the short distance between the southern part of Spain (Andalusia) and Northern Africa (Morocco and Algeria), hundreds of attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea in small boats occur every year.…”

“…Forensic genetics continues to face three primary challenges. First, to increase the number of countries that create and maintain their own databases; second, to enlarge the size and quantity of data points collected in existing databases; and third, and very important, to coordinate between existing and future databases, which is a key aspect necessary for a global society, especially when attempting to understand and prosecute human trafficking (Spradley, Herrmann, Siegert, & McDaneld, 2018).…”

“…For instance, at the US-Mexico border, thousands of unidentified remains have been found, which are most likely Mexican and Central American migrants who have attempted to access the United States; despite various efforts over the 20 years to speed this activity, especially in Arizona (Martinez et al, 2013) and Texas (Spradley et al, 2018), which are the two most affected border states, the number of identifications is limited. Knowing whom these individuals are and determining their ages, sexes, and nationalities would allow the determination of the approximate dates they left their countries and the dates they attempted to cross the border, which would provide sufficient information for law enforcement intelligence services to track the routes used for human trafficking and parallel criminal enterprises, such as human smuggling.…”

Commentary on: Bethard JD, DiGangi EA. Letter to the Editor—Moving beyond a lost cause: Forensic anthropology and ancestry estimates in the United States. J Forensic Sci. 2020;65(5):1791–2. doi: 10.1111/1556‐4029.14513.

“…Efforts have been made to develop reference databases for under-represented groups in the United States, so that these groups are reflected within forensic anthropological methods[26]. Forensic anthropologists strive to modify policies and procedures to better center marginalized or under-represented groups, as well as collaborate with multiple agencies (e.g., NGOs) to increase the rate of positive identifications of undocumented migrants[27]. Beyond addressing needs in the field, additional catalysts for these deeper ex-plorations were likely the 2009 National Academy of Sciences Report and major legal rulings that demanded an increase in scientific rigor of all forensic methods, including the development of probabilistic-based estimates and addressing cognitive bias and error analysis [28-33].…”