Crossing the border: struggles and injustice

News from Contacto Magazine

According to the article, the Border Patrol found 287 corpses of people trying to cross into the United States. It is estimated that some 10,000 immigrants have died in the last two decades in the deserts that divide both countries. The rest of the article focuses on many statistics and reasons why immigrants face danger.

According to data from the article and US Customs and Border Protection Office, approximately 7,000 immigrants have died of dehydration and high temperatures as they attempted to cross into the United States over the past two decades. For his part, Ev Meade, director of the Transboundary Institute of the University of San Diego estimates that the dead could be more than 10,000.

Even though the majority of those attempting to cross have historically been Mexicans, thousands of immigrants of varying nationalities also travel across the border.

The report also shows that children are affected as well. A study by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees highlights that the arrival of Central American children across the border from just over 4,000 in 2011 to 20,443 in 2012 and doubled in 2013 with the arrival of 21,537. At the end of fiscal year 2014, the US Border Patrol reported that it had detained 68,541 children.