Violence Committed Against Migrants in Transit: Experiences on the Northern Mexican Border

Abstract

Thousands of Mexican and Central American migrants converge at the Mexico-United States border. Undocumented migrants in transit to the United States are vulnerable due to their lack of access to health care and legal assistance. This study attempts to provide evidence on the violent-related consequences that migration has on migrants. A mixed-method study was conducted between April 2006-May 2007 in shelters in Baja California, Mexicali and Tijuana, Mexico. 22 in depth interviews were performed and fifteen hundred and twelve migrants responded a questionnaire. Results from both in-depth interviews and the analysis of the quantitative data shows the different types of violence experiences by migrants which include threats, verbal abuse, and arbitrary detention based on ethnicity, as well as assaults, beatings and sexual violence. It is crucial to stress the importance and the need to evidence the condition in which migrants' transit to the US and to effectively respond to the violence they experience.

Police Victimization Among Persons Who Inject Drugs Along the U.S.–Mexico Border

“…Tijuana also has a prominent population of migrants, primarily men, who have been deported from the United States and have resettled in Tijuana (Pinedo et al, 2014b(Pinedo et al, , 2015; the city received~316,000 deported migrants between (Instituto Nacional de Migracion, 2011, 2013. Migrants are highly stigmatized in Tijuana, where they are perceived by the community as the cause of prevailing social problems, including increasing rates of crime and drug use (Infante et al, 2012;Pinedo et al, 2014a). Sociocultural and visual differences (e.g., clothes, speech) may quickly distinguish migrants from locals (Infante et al, 2012;Pinedo et al, 2014a).…”

“…Migrants are highly stigmatized in Tijuana, where they are perceived by the community as the cause of prevailing social problems, including increasing rates of crime and drug use (Infante et al, 2012;Pinedo et al, 2014a). Sociocultural and visual differences (e.g., clothes, speech) may quickly distinguish migrants from locals (Infante et al, 2012;Pinedo et al, 2014a). Recent migrants who are PWID may be less acclimated to the local culture and environment, thus quickly identifiable and vulnerable to police victimization.…”

“…In Tijuana, a Mexican city that borders the United States, accounts of police victimization are widespread among PWID and have been linked to behaviors that increase susceptibility to HIV infection (Beletsky et al, 2012(Beletsky et al, , 2013Infante et al, 2012;Miller et al, 2008;Pinedo et al, 2014aPinedo et al, , 2015Pollini et al, 2008Pollini et al, , 2009Pollini et al, , 2010Strathdee et al, 2005Strathdee et al, , 2008bVolkmann et al, 2011). Community and problematic policing practices can operate as social-structural drivers of HIV infection (Blankenship & Koester, 2002;Miller et al, 2008;Sarang et al, 2010;Strathdee et al, 2008bStrathdee et al, , 2010.…”

Turning Points and Transitions: The Role of Family in Women’s Immigration Experiences

“…As discussed, the existing literature focused on immigrants' journeys across borders tends to focus on men from Latin America crossing into the United States (DeLuca et al, 2010;Infante et al, 2012). The limited studies on women's journeys and the gendered experience of migrating to a new country explore extreme aspects, including how and why women without documentation are more likely than their male counterparts to die during relocation due to either socio-political reasons (e.g., border protection) or factors of the physical environment (Pickering & Cochrane, 2012).…”

“…Some women traveled with members of their families of procreation, often a spouse, while other women traveled with members of their families of origin, including siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles. Women who were undocumented, along with the family members with whom they traveled, experienced extremely difficult and expensive trips, as Sofia described: Some of the women who were undocumented directly experienced U.S. policy rooted in anti-immigrant sentiments (Vallas, Zimmerman, & Davis, 2009), by being detained when they arrived in the U.S. (Infante et al, 2012;Wilson, 2000). This further exacerbated the distress of their relocation to the U.S., as Daniela describes: (2012) found among people crossing the Mexicali border in terms of being humiliated and psychologically mistreated.…”