Undocumented Border Crosser Deaths in Arizona: Expanding Intrastate Collaborative Efforts in Identification

Abstract

Undocumented Border Crosser (UBC) deaths in Arizona are a major issue faced by medicolegal authorities. Currently, the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner (MCOME) is in possession of over two hundred unidentified individuals, more than half of whom are presumed to be UBCs. The primary goal of this study was to address the growing number of UBC deaths in Maricopa County in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of this important anthropological issue within the state of Arizona. Of the 107 total UBC cases evaluated for the study, the majority were male and age estimates for all individuals were between 15 to 60 years old. Modeled after the recording system established by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, the biographic and geographic data for these cases were entered into a new UBC database at MCOME and later added to the online Map of Migrant Mortality.

Lost in Plain Sight: How Current Burial Practices Impact Migrant Death Investigation in South Texas

“…Beginning in 1994, the U.S. implementation of the "Prevention through Deterrence" border enforcement strategy has increasingly pushed migrants to reroute through remote and dangerous terrain, leading to stark increases in death and an ongoing lack of visibility to the scope of the disaster (Kovic 2013;Anderson 2008;De León 2015;Spradley et al 2019). Since 2012, migrant death rates have remained highest in Texas, with the Rio Grande Valley Sector surpassing numbers in Arizona (Fleischman et al 2017; United States Customs and Border Protection 2020; Spradley et al 2016). However, accurate counts of death are largely unknown due to the difficulty of recovering remains from expansive desert and ranchland environments, including the effects of carrion and canid scavenging (Beck et al 2015;Gocha, Spradley, and Strand 2018).…”

“…As the states with the most migrant fatalities, Arizona and Texas both have county-based death investigation systems, although major differences exist between the two. On the one hand, Arizona has a high ratio of medical examiners to the number of counties, with the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner and the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner providing centralized death investigation to almost all unidentified migrants recovered in the state (Anderson 2008;Fleischman et al 2017). In Texas, on the other hand, there is a shortage of pathologists, with the jurisdictional authority primarily falling to Justices of the Peace who oversee distinct precincts within each of the 254 counties (Spradley et al 2019;Gocha, Spradley, and Strand 2018).…”

“…Since 2012, migrant death rates have remained highest in Texas, with the Rio Grande Valley Sector surpassing numbers in Arizona (Fleischman et al. 2017; United States Customs and Border Protection 2020; Spradley et al. 2016).…”

Forensic anthropology in crisis settings: a required component of investigation in the world‘s trouble spots

“…75 The remains have been analysed by forensic anthropologists, but positive identifications have not been made. 76 By gathering DNA samples, a robust DNA database is being created; yet, it must be kept in mind that unless the investigating teams possess reliable background information to go by, the stored DNA samples will not be of any help.…”

Forensic anthropology casework at the Cook County Illinois Medical Examiner's Office, Chicago, IL, 2012–2022

“…Additionally, many practicing forensic anthropologists in the Southwest U.S. have reported on the changing nature of their casework due to increased numbers of migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border and the need for better means of positive identification and repatriation (e.g., Ref. [14][15][16][17][18]).…”