Travel through the United States-Mexico border is exceedingly difficult for reasons including arduous terrain, brutal environmental conditions, the physical barrier of the border wall, lack of access to legal avenues of immigration, and intense border patrolling by U.S. officials. Because of the aforementioned difficulties, countless migrants find themselves in hazardous conditions during their migration, with many either dying or disappearing along their migration route. Because of individuals’ migrant status, often their death or disappearance goes undocumented and/or unresolved. The more that is known about migrants’ deaths and disappearances, the more that can be done to remedy our inhumane border. The research presented here examines migrant death and disappearance by county (US) or municipality (MX) from 2014 on and aims to contextualize this data in order to contribute to the efforts of many to make our southern border a safer route for migration. Data for this project was provided by the Missing Migrants Project, created by the International Organization for Migration. Please be aware that this data is estimated to be under-count.
This project will examine the top three counties/municipalities, as their death and disappearance count are all significantly above 200, whereas the other counties and municipalities have not crossed this threshold.
Pima County, Arizona, USA
With a migrant death and disappearance count of 1,301, Pima County, Arizona, USA has the highest recorded count. A confounding factor to this finding is that the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office has undertaken an initiative to document migrant deaths and created GIS system to help migrants’ families identify and receive the deceased’s remains. Therefore, the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office’s open access system and specific focus on migrant death has likely contributed to Pima County’s high death and disappearance count, as other counties and municipalities do not have similar practices. Yet, Pima County does have a significant factor that also contributes to the county’s high death and disappearance count, that is the Sonora Desert, which is located near Arizona’s border with Mexico. Excluding unknown causes, the most frequent cause of death or disappearance listed for migrants in Pima County was harsh environmental conditions. Migrants attempting to travel through the desert risk dehydration, heat illness, exhaustion, and other injuries related to their travel. Additionally, these migrants likely lack consistent access to water, food, and shelter, which increases their risk for dying due to the environmental elements. Additionally, Pima County contains a permanent Border Control checkpoint. Therefore, it is possible that migrants are traveling on foot through the harsh environmental conditions to avoid detection from the Border Patrol.
Webb County, Texas, USA
With a migrant death and disappearance count of 351, Webb County, Texas, USA has the second highest recorded count. Excluding unknown causes, the most frequent cause of death or disappearance listed for migrants in Webb County was due to vehicle accident/hazardous transport. From the reports that provided contextual information, it appears as though there are two types of incidents that caused migrant death related to vehicle accident/hazardous transport in Webb County. The first type of incident occurred when migrants were attempting to flee U.S. officials in a vehicle which was accidentally crashed. The second type of incident occurred when migrants were traveling on foot alongside vehicles, and they were hit by a motor vehicle. In both situations, it is possible that migrants were traveling in the manner they were in order to avoid detection by U.S. officials, as there are four permanent Border Patrol checkpoints in Webb County. A close second cause of death and disappearance was harsh environmental conditions. Because Webb County is located in South Texas, migrants through this area are subject to lack of water, high temperatures, and significant sun exposure – all of which contribute to migrant health concerns. Again, this could be related to migrants trying to avoid the Border Patrol checkpoints, as migrants try to make the journey into Texas by traveling through remote areas on foot.
Brooks County, Texas, USA
With a migrant death and disappearance count of 323, Brooks County, Texas, USA has the third highest recorded count. Excluding unknown causes, the most frequent cause of death or disappearance listed for migrants in Brooks County was due to harsh environmental factors. Brooks County is also in South Texas which exposes migrants to the same environmental concerns those in Webb County. A close second cause of death and disappearance was because of vehicle accident/hazardous transport. This is mainly due to one vehicle accident that caused the death of 10 migrants. Brooks County also contains a Border Patrol checkpoint. Meaning that it is possible that migrants are choosing a hazardous means of travel (like walking through the terrain or attempting to hide in a vehicle) in order to avoid detection by the Border Patrol.
There are substantial economic costs to counties and states associated with migrant death and disappearances. In Texas, it is estimated the county and state costs for each deceased migrant is between $4,625 and $10,435 depending on the type of services provided. As migrant death and disappearances continue to rise, the cost for counties or municipalities and states will increase. To offset these costs and save lives, it is necessary for cities, counties or municipalities, states, and countries to provide funding for efforts to make the U.S.-MX border safer for migrants.