“Is it worth risking your life?”: Ethnography, risk and death on the U.S.–Mexico border

Abstract

a b s t r a c tEvery year, several hundred people die attempting to cross the border from Mexico into the United States, most often from dehydration and heat stroke though snake bites and violent assaults are also common. This article utilizes participant observation fieldwork in the borderlands of the US and Mexico to explore the experience of structural vulnerability and bodily health risk along the desert trek into the US. Between 2003 and 2005, the ethnographer recorded interviews and conversations with undocumented immigrants crossing the border, border patrol agents, border activists, borderland residents, and armed civilian vigilantes. In addition, he took part in a border crossing beginning in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and ending in a border patrol jail in Arizona after he and his undocumented Mexican research subjects were apprehended trekking through the borderlands. Field notes and interview transcriptions provide thick ethnographic detail demonstrating the ways in which social, ethnic, and citizenship differences as well as border policies force certain categories of people to put their bodies, health, and lives at risk in order for them and their families to survive. Yet, metaphors of individual choice deflect responsibility from global economic policy and US border policy, subtly blaming migrants for the danger e and sometimes death e they experience. The article concludes with policy changes to make USeMexico labor migration less deadly.

“The Only Thing I Wish I Could Change Is That They Treat Us Like People and Not Like Animals”: Injury and Discrimination Among Latino Farmworkers

“…The combination of these methods has been used successfully in other studies in other research on economically and socially marginalized groups of farmworkers. 8,9,14 This paper used ethnography with this in mind, investigating lived experience of injured farmworkers to analyze linkages between injury and discrimination. A purposive sample 24 of 180 farmworkers between 18 and 68 years-of-age were observed during the study period, but surveys and interviews were only conducted among the 89 farmworkers whom the primary researcher (hereinafter, researcher) either observed having an injury or learned of an injury during conversation.…”

“…For example, farmworkers of Latino origin are frequently asked to go beyond their physical capabilities to meet employers' demands 6-9 and work under extreme weather conditions. 10-12 Additionally, factors like immigrant and ethnic discrimination, 7,9,13,14 the type of contract under which they work (hourly vs. piece-rate), 10,15 and workplace violence and threats from employers (e.g., deportation) keep workers from reporting their injuries. 16 Substandard working conditions that put productivity first and farmworkers' security last 6,15 also impact farmworkers' risk of injury, as does underreporting.…”

“…16 Substandard working conditions that put productivity first and farmworkers' security last 6,15 also impact farmworkers' risk of injury, as does underreporting. 7,17 This combination of experiences is sometimes described by workers as s ufrimiento (suffering) in relation to how they are treated when they are injured, 9 and that overall discrimination based on their ethnicity and foreign-born status may negatively influence health outcomes. 16 …”

Ethnography of Health for Social Change: Impact on public perception and policy

“…Holmes (2013) brings us to the US-Mexican border, with an on-the-ground account of the deadly trek that undocumented Mexican migrants are forced to take in search of work. As Holmes points out, a face-to-face ethnographic description of the mortal risks of this border crossing calls attention to the health effects of immigration policies and international trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, that are making local sources of industry and employment in Mexico unsustainable.…”

Hidden Farmworker Labor Camps in North Carolina: An Indicator of Structural Vulnerability

“…9 The act of migrating is a substantial risk for many farmworkers. 10 When faced with workplace hazards, they are often reluctant to complain for fear of losing a needed job. 11---13 Housing is an example of the structural vulnerability faced by migrant farmworkers.…”