Borders of Death

Two people die everyday from illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. Many of these people are women and children; they cross to find work to sustain families and or to leave their own country for a better future. They trudge through the Sonoran Desert dying of dehydration, heat stroke, and sickness’s, led by “guides” or coyotes that only care about their own greed. Who is to blame for these devastating deaths? Blame can not be placed with just one person or one government. Blame should be thrust upon the United State’s government and the government’s of Central and South America. It is not the fault of one but many.

Two billion dollars are spent yearly by the United States government for border enforcement. Border enforcement in the last few years has multiplied by erecting new fences, increasing patrols and funding. Leading to thousands of undocumented workers crossing remote areas because these are the only places left unprotected. The United State’s government is partially to blame for illegal immigration. A new system of immigration needs to be implemented. One that enforces the restriction of legal immigrants to 300,000 or less per year. The system would also allow legal immigrant’s spouses and minor’s to cross into the United States legally, allowing the government to stabilize the U.S.’s population. These goals are part of FAIR (the Federation of American Immigration Reform), an organization advocating lower levels of immigration. This organization strives to reduce the number of illegal immigrants crossing the Mexican border into the United States. Leading to a reduction in the number of death associated with illegal border crossings.

Illegal immigration into the United States has been a leading cause of death for families from Central and South America. Left with no other opportunity they leave their homes in search of a better future for their families. Their government leaves them no other choice, by sustaining the less than mediocre lifestyle that these people thrive to escape. Third world countries with economies crumbling due to natural causes, political corruption, and unfair living conditions are only an insufficient amount of reasons as to why these immigrants are forced to leave. Ten years is an unacceptable amount of time to obtain citizenship when a family needs food on the table or clothes on their backs. Left with no other choice they hire “guides”, known commonly as coyotes. People who promise to take them to the United States safely and cheaply with legal papers. They spin a tale that plays on the hopes and dreams these people have for their families and their future. The coyotes however are only concerned with their payment and how fast they can smuggle drugs and or other illegal substances across the border. Many coyotes not only smuggle people across the border but also require these people to transport drugs either internally or externally on their person. The more responsibility the Central and South American governments act in changing the standard of living within their countries boundaries; the less we will hear about border crossing death tolls. This in turn will negate the number of associated deaths of family members killed by border patrols or left behind by coyotes.

Blame can not be placed on one country above another. It is apparent that the blame should be shared by all responsible parties; governments, peoples, and legal or illegal groups. It is an involved effort centering on the individual governments first, by setting new policies agreed upon by all parties involved. All keeping in mind the goal is to reduce the amount of deaths due to the illegal border crossings between Mexico and the United States and reducing the onslaught of a million plus legal immigrants. By changing the United States immigration policy we would have the ability to negate the illegal immigration and reduce the possibility of a collapse in the United States economy. With the help of the Central and South American governments creating new economies of scale, their workforce would be encouraged to stay and not immigrate. It has to be a joint effort on both sides of the issue. Only then, I believe people who want to immigrate to the United States will see no need to cross illegally but instead do so through legal processes. This will fulfill FAIR’s policy of 300,000 or less legal immigrants per year into the United States.

Two people die everyday from illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. Each death represents a statistic that no government is proud of. No family benefits from the loss, nor does any country mentioned above. There is a way to make that statistic disappear. But it will take the conscientious effort by all involved parties. This includes changes in the United States immigration policy to reduce the amount of legal immigrants accepted into the country. Central and South American governments will increase the opportunities for their citizens by providing economies of scale. This would include more avenues available for their population to prosper. By making a change in the job structure the need for “guides” or coyotes would be greatly reduced if not depleted entirely. If a person has a job that sustains their family there is no need to immigrate, legally or illegally. FAIR would then have accomplished their immigration goal. I am not looking at who to blame but how each of us can solve this problem. I believe that if we start to work together a permanent solution will be found and the needless loss of life as well as illegal immigration will be at an end.