Relics of a Deadly Journey
The belongings of some of the people who have vanished while crossing from Mexico to the United States offer evidence of what people expected to need for their journeys or their lives in the United States.
Published: May 20, 2013
Migrant Deaths in Southern Arizona
Since 2001 about 2,100 migrants have died while crossing the Arizona border. The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office and Humane Borders, a nonprofit group that maintains a network of water stations for migrants, have released a database pinpointing where remains have been found. In recent years, more migrants have died closer to the border than in previous years but farther from roads, according to John F. Chamblee, research chairman at Humane Borders.
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A majority of deaths, where cause has been determined, were from dehydration or exposure to extreme heat or cold.
Nearly half of known migrant deaths in Arizona happened within the borders of the Tohono O’odham Nation Indian Reservation, a wedge of desert the size of Connecticut. The tribe does not allow Humane Borders to leave water stations on its land.
In earlier years, deaths were concentrated in the Altar Valley and the Baboquivari Valley but became more scattered after the Secure Fence Act in 2006 authorized additional fencing and increased enforcement.
In recent years, deaths have been more frequent in the mountainous regions east of the Altar Valley and the desert west of the Baboquivari Valley, which are more remote and harder to get to.
Water station
Migrant death
Assuming migrants travel an average of 12 miles per day, this cluster of deaths probably occurred on the third day after crossing the border.
DEATH BY
MONTH,
2012
CAUSE OF DEATH,
SINCE 2001
847
117
39
27
26
24
17
Exposure
Blunt force injury
Gunshot wound
Disease
Drowning
Vehicle accident
Homicide
25
20
15
10
5
Dec.
June
Jan.
Phoenix
Nogales
Tucson
Baboquivari
Valley
Santa Cruz
Valley
Altar
Valley
DETAIL
ARIZONA
MEXICO
TEXAS
CALIFORNIA
NEW MEXICO