Migrant Death and Identification

Abstract

Chapter 11 explores undocumented migrant deaths on the U.S.-Mexico border. Recent changes to border policies have led to an increase in migrant deaths. In order to make sense of this humanitarian crisis, political economic theory that considers power and structural inequalities is applied. A careful review demonstrates how, coupled with historical trajectories in Latin America, the rise of neoliberalism has led to increases in social inequality and violence, resulting in increased migration as the oppressed flee in the hopes of finding a different life. Due to the dangerous conditions encountered along the journey, many migrants die every year attempting to find this new life.