Record Arizona Border Death Count
Here are some of the bodies stacked up at the county morgue in Tucson. Just a few of them. There’s a whole lot more in the 50 foot refrigerated trailer now more or less permanently parked in front of the Pima County Morgue. Indeed, as The L.A. Times reports, Arizona is now well on the way for breaking its own record of people dying to cross the border. Probably more than 220 this year:
In 2007, a record 218 bodies were found in Pima County. This year, the death toll could be worse. Already, authorities have recovered the remains of 170 migrants…
July was the worst month of this year so far, with 59 people found dead. More than half of them died from heat-related causes. On July 15, the deadliest day of the month, seven bodies were found, among them the remains of Omar Luna Velasquez, 25. The high temperature that day was 108 degrees.
To accommodate the bodies in the summer heat, a 50-foot refrigerated trailer truck has been parked in the coroner’s receiving area
Now, I’ve been around long enough to know that most folks couldn’t give one hoot about a nameless Mexican who quite literally gets his or her brains fried while crossing the Sonoran desert. Some probably think they deserve it. But for those who lack decency and compassion for simple people running tremendous risks, let’s at least look at this mathematically.
The record number of deaths occurred in 2007 when the U.S. economy was still peaking. The already draconian border crackdown in effect at the time had created a labor shortage in the Southwest and anyone lucky enough to make it alive across the border could get a job that paid ten times more than a job in Mexico — provided any job could be found.
In the intervening three years, great swaths of the Holy Protective Wall have been constructed. Batteries of new sensors, infra-red cameras, physical and electronic barriers have been constructed. Arizona has passed SEVERAL laws make life miserable, supposedly, for illegals. National Guard troops have been sent to the border. The number of Border Patrol agents have been nearly doubled. All this at the cost of quite literally billions of dollars.
And yet….they keep coming, as Pete Wilson used to say. And they keep dying in record numbers. All this in the midst of an economic downturn in the U.S. and a fierce and intimidating escalation of nativist frenzy in Arizona.
How many different ways can you spell FAIL?
My friend and all around wise man, Chuck Bowden, has put it best. “The mass immigration from Mexico will cease only when we lower American wages to the level of Vietnam.”
As long as there is a 20 x 1 rural pay difference between the two countries, you really think the bloviating rhetoric of a head case like Sheriff Joe Arpaio or a lout like John McCain is going to make even a dent in the flow? And now add in the mass murder going on in northern Mexico? You’d be nuts, NOT to try and get across the border.
Get real.
Here’s Bowden.
P.S. No one has written with more dark lyricism about the Season of Death (the summer border crossing period) than Luis Alberto Urrea in his classic work, The Devil’s Highway. Writes Urrea:
It is then that lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, strawberries are all ready to be picked. Arkansas chickens are ready to be plucked. Cows are waiting in Iowa and Nebraska to be ground into hamburger, and grills are ready in McDonald’s and Burger King and Wendy’s and Taco Bell for the ground meat to be cooked. KFC is waiting for its Mexican-plucked, Mexican-slaughtered chickens to be fried by Mexicans. And the western desert is waiting, too—its temperatures soaring, a fryer in its own right.
So, que prefieres? Regular or crispy?
August 24th, 2010 at 12:04 am
Let me just ask the question: How has Obama’s border policy changed from that of Bush’s? My feeling is for the worse.
August 24th, 2010 at 7:19 am
The amount of money spent to keep people from coming in could have kept people home by investing that much into land purchase and creating sustainable coop economies. That money could have been used to save many times over all those lives lost…
No one talks about the screws the US puts on Mexico and the lack of screws for Mexico to clean up its corruption and create the necessary environment that protects its own citizens.
The Pokey’s and Jim R’s can’t imagine that what is driving people over the border is the same thing that drove millions to die on horrible Atlantic voyages to get ‘here’.
I don’t know about anyone else but I have pretty much reached the wall of revulsion for the waste….
August 24th, 2010 at 7:25 am
When Marc talks about immigration, there is silence.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:20 am
To accommodate the bodies in the summer heat, a 50-foot refrigerated trailer truck has been parked in the coroner’s receiving area..
——————————-
The arrogance of empire…. not even water provided in the desert yet airconditioning for the corpses.
This is the face of american slavery. It’s never gone away.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:45 am
When in the Army going through Basic Training I almost collapsed from heat stroke, the sharp eye of the drill Sgt. was all that saved my life perhaps.
No one, absolutely NO ONE should die like that. I’m wondering what would happen if Mr. Calderon stepped up patrols on his side of the border and went after the coyotes more aggressively, many of whom openly advertise in Mexico. They too are part of the problem.
We need more folk in the desert seeking out these people and rescuing them, then escort them back home. Hell, even if someone helped them, that would be better than them dying in the desert.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Pablo…the real stupidity is that instead of spending the billions wasted on contractors who get rich supplying construction materials and gear it could have been spent in a kind of foreign aid to reconfigure the lives of those people so they could stay home.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Talk about synchronicity:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/24/pennsylvania.graves.mystery/index.html?hpt=C1
nice to know there was once equal opportunity prejudice in America against immigrants.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
As Bowden points out, it’s supply and demand. You can give Shurf Joe a doomsday device, and the most enterprising people will STILL find ways to get through, as long as the price is right. There are only three ways to stop them (and they don’t include more law enforcement): An unprecedented economic renaissance in Mexico; paying Americans minimum wage to do the jobs now done by undocumented Mexicans; or completely eliminating the minimum wage and standard of living in the US. I’d say the last will probably happen first, because, as important as it is that we keep out the brown menace, we can’t expect our corporate citizens to make any sacrifices over this.
August 24th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Roper: Calderon was appointed sheriff by the USA to do exactly the job he is now doing. Mexican people elected a different sheriff but guys like you don’t need no stinkin’ badges.
Anna: Thanks for showing that throughout the checkered history it’s always been a bordello at the bottom. You might enjoy reading of the Irish San Patricios who saw things clearly about the same time the Philadelphia Irish were dying to find work. Unlike their counterparts who perished on the railroads in the USA, these Irish are honoured by a Presidential ceremony each year. (It could move one to tears as it does me)
Devin strikes a chord. Employer sanctions would result in howls of execration, not just by the business classes, but by ordinary americans. Citizenship has it privileges. One has the luxury of tipping when the pizza arrives hot and bitching when it arrives cold.
In slave days of yore, the chattel mounted a pedestal and teeth were checked, muscles squeezed, hips measured for child-bearing…
Now in these post-darwinian times if the chattel can survive the arid middle passage, without water, hunted like dogs, that is deemed sufficient to man the car-wash, strap on the leaf-blower, or park the Volvo.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Pablo, I will look up the Irish San Patricios.
And here is another reality byte for the yahoos who think the brown menace should be stopped in their tracks:
a few weeks ago my friend in ORegon told me about the Oregon/WA cherry growers attempting to hire only documented workers. For those who don’t know Oregon and WA grown THE cherries and they are a big deal.
So guess what…they couldnt find enough workers and lost millions or thousands or whatever it was that year trying to comply.
I also had read some years ago about the tacit agreement between Mexico and US re letting in illegal workers just so they could work the fields.
Its a load of bullshit. It was pure expoitation by corporate interests to have cheap labor. They knew it wasnt depriving anyone of a job. Thats the Tom Joad/Steinbeck myth.
We all know white trash are too ignorant and lazy to work and just leech off the system…
August 24th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
…however a few do eek at a living selling meth and fighting pit bulls.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
We all know white trash are too ignorant and lazy to work and just leech off the system…
…however a few do eek at a living selling meth and fighting pit bulls.
———————–
Is there at least a matador-like costume?
August 24th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
“fighting pit bulls”. lol
Pablo et al: for those who are hungry for a good bookstore featuring Latin American writers and Mexican folk art…and plan a trip to Palm Springs:
http://www.latinobooksymas.com/
gorgeous shop and totally unexpected. I was there in 06 and came out with incredible books and folk art you never see in the US. The wonderful couple owners go down to Mexico to hand pick pieces. Their selection of books just incredible.
August 24th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
hey, speaking of fighting bulls its being banned in parts of Spain. Now that is extraordinary. If Spain can outlaw a deeply rooted part of their cultural expression – a country with such a strong cultural tradition – in order to stop animal cruelty and evolve one would think that a country like America could curb some of its excesses rather than rush headlong with open arms to embrace every atavistic notion that pops out of some cretin’s mouth.
August 24th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
[...] full post upon US – Google Blog Search [...]
August 24th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
Thanks for the bookstore link..I encourage all to purchase from indy-booksellers whenever possible.
We’ll check the shop next visit to PS..which is to say when the temperature cools.
Meanwhile on the topic of Latin American books en translado, this site offers the most comprehensive and intellegent I’ve seen:
http://www.latamrob.com/
As we are on the topic of border racism, the relationship between Mexico and the US is well worth exploring. Two books which get to the meat of the matter are:
EL MONSTRUO: Dread and Redemption in Mexico City.
Mexico Unconquered: Chronicles of Power and Revolt
Both of these survey the interdependent relationship and limited soverignity.
The Bowden book is also excellent as to the dynamics relating to the border…and would probably whet curiosity to delve further into how this dysfunctional relationship ticks.
As one who resides on both sides, the recent militarization seems emblematic of how we choose to engage the world.
August 24th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
@Pablo: Boots on the ground! Diplomacy and negotiation, like anything else conservatives don’t like, are “soft.” And no one enjoys that, male or female.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Pablo, thanks for book titles.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
Sorry, I am probably missing something. What am I missing? What, Cooper, do you advocate as US law? Should the US simply open its borders and welcome all comers?
That would make perfect sense and would eliminate these tragic deaths. (And these death are tragic, according to the dictionary definition of tragic).
So, Cooper, do you advocate open borders? If not, what the hell are you complaining against? A lack of a rapid response team to return Mexicans to Mexico in air-conditioned comfort?
Seriously Cooper, wrap your fat head around the idea that you either need to provide a solution to the problem you claim to object to, or you need to quit pretending that you object to this problem.
August 25th, 2010 at 4:31 am
[...] Marc Cooper’s Record Arizona border death count [...]
August 25th, 2010 at 9:31 am
Biff, you are missing something… the true price of having your Mercedes Benz handwashed…
But I am angry at your neanderthal rant, so I too must refer to you by your surname:
Larkin, the exploitation of migrants is a form of Republican strip-mining… it is a crime which is seldom enforced… so I am all about enforcement. Profit from exploiting people and be forced to sleep in your Mercedes sin agua out in the desert.
Larkin, check out the building trades… roofing for example.. tell me the ex-mod price for workers compensation insurance paid to safeguard roofing employees.
Larkin, it is very high, like the roof being built…but it can all be avoided, Señor Larkin.
A quick drive-by at the Home Depot, hire a few casuals, and laugh at your competitor who follows the law by insuring his people.
Are roofs any cheaper? Maybe un poco,
Señor Larkin.
But the profits!!!!! Look at the nice Mercedes that gringo just bought for his kid.
And Larkin… I heard this gringo on KFI say that worker’s comp premiums are so high that it is driving him, his family, and his Mercedes out of California.
I LOL! This pinche gringo is lying about being in business. He feigns indignity and looks to be offended.
So yes, as you like to wonder aloud Señor Larkin, you are missing a lot.
August 25th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
Pablo, did you mention you are an attorney? Nothing to do with your last post kicking Biff’s cojones. Just thought I remembered you mentioning something about doing legal work.
August 25th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
Christ on the phone, Pablo. I merely criticized Cooper in the way I criticize you. What do you want the law to be? Say so.
Try to make sense. We are trying to run a nation of laws, here.
Current US law against illegal aliens is ten times easier and more humane than Mexican law against illegal aliens. What do you understand the US law to be and what do you want it to be?
Seriously, try to make sense.
The idea that Democrats a
August 25th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
Mr. Larkin:
Any more name calling of the host and you are out of here. Got it?
I have offered the answer many times. We need comprehensive reform: it includes the granting of about 1/2 million addtl work visas per year, a humane guest worker program with a path to citizenship, an AMNESTY for those already here and who need to be legalized and accounted for, and a for-real employer sanctions law, perhaps with a national ID card. Whats ur solution? How many border troops do u think u need to keep 1255 million Mexicans from fleeing a collapsing country?
August 25th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
When people died trying to cross the border from East Germany, we called it state murder. Of course it is a bit different, but my President and Governor just ordered more troops to the border, with the only real tangible result being more dead. Migration was just as higher (mostly higher) in the 90s, but there were virtually none dead then. Simple logic says that US policies bear responsibility for these deaths.
August 26th, 2010 at 5:34 am
“When people died trying to cross the border from East Germany, we called it state murder. Of course it is a bit different,”
Just a bit. East Germans didn’t ‘die’ crossing their border, they were shot……by East Germans. Simple logic you’ve tried to contort into a twisted logic to fit an agenda.
Pathetic.
August 26th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Jim, my point was that US policies are responsible for a huge increase in border deaths. Do you dispute this?
August 26th, 2010 at 10:07 am
Simple logic says that US policies bear responsibility for these deaths.
Actually, no. The policies of the right-wing Mexican government encourages immigration. Indeed, AMLo when he was running for president in 2006 committed himself as follows:
Rafael Correa has tried to facilitate the return of Ecuadorean immigrants.
Indeed, the right in Latin America prefers immigration to the US, both for the money sent back to the countries and the easing of pressure to improve the lives of the poor.
Figure you of all people would pick up on that, Matt. Guess that’s why hatred is blind . . .
August 26th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Oh come on Randy. Governments can do very little to stem migration – unless they can know the secret code to create millions of jobs that pay many times what they do now. But that is like expecting magic. The Ecuadorean policy, while laudable, has had very little impact – as your link says. Migration is a deep structural problem that no policy – either in the US or Latin America – can easily “fix” (at least in the short and medium term).
The question is why are more migrants dying now along the US border? The reason is not disputed. It’s because they are taking riskier routes than before – through the harshest deserts and most remote lands. Why are they doing that? Because of US border policies – the wall and militarization. Again, there were more migrants in the 90s but hardly anyone died then. Today, with xenophobic US policies, the dead are skyrocketing. People are dying every day. Mexico tries to explain the dangers and discourage people from going, but in the end, it is US policies that share responsibility for these deaths, along with the people who chose to leave themself, of course.
August 26th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Oh come on Randy. Governments can do very little to stem migration – unless they can know the secret code to create millions of jobs that pay many times what they do now.
Usually it is the poorest of the poor who leave their country to emigrate from Latin America and Mexico in particular. Those who opt to travel through the Sonoran Desert are not looking for a better job; they’re looking for a job and/or fighting racial discrimination from the Mexican elite. How many subsistenc farmers have fled because they cannot make a living selling corm because of NAFTA?
Those who have precious little alternative if they want to live but to suffer the indignities of crossing the desert would be better served with less corrupt governments more interested in helping all of their citizens including the desperately poor through improved education, training programs.
What I find amazing is that your pathological hatred of your own country hs caused you to pooh-pooh the position of the leftist presidential candidate of Mexico in 2006, AMLO who said “The only thing that will work is creating jobs in Mexico.” Instead you ally yourself with the likes of Felipe Calderon and Vicente Fox who would preferto prop up their economy by exporting the poor to work almost like slaves to send money home. Nice going.
August 26th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Yes, NAFTA has increased migration. I’m with you there. But to say that Mexico could somehow just flip a switch and end corruption or provide decent education and jobs to everyone is simply wishful thinking. Of course, Mexico should do a better job with education and economic development – and they have in the last decade. But there will always be migrants for as long as the huge inequalities between the US and Mexico exist. Politically, this “blame Mexico” approach (usually from xenophobic Americans) only serves the purpose to deflect our own responsibility, which is the only one we should really care the most about. But again, this is about the death avoidance not how to stop immigration altogether.
Though it is not at all true, you can accuse me of a pathological hatred of my country if you wish. But what I would be more concerned about is the pathological love for our country that that blinds us to the crimes committed in our name. And the deaths of these 170 people so far this year certainly are the direct result of policies the Government implemented in our name, pushed by American patriots. You refuse to acknowledge that. Why?
And please forget your nonsense idea that I am allying myself with the PAN against Obrador. I agree with everything ALMO says on immigration. I also agree with his vigorous criticism of US border policy – the militarization, the border walls, ect. What I think is most appalling about the PANs approach is how they are so scared to piss off the Americans, that they remain mostly silent in the face of rampant human rights abuse of their countrymen (allowing rubber bullets to be shot at them as part of a US-Mexico agreement for example).
August 26th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
You refuse to acknowledge that. Why?
Because I don’t accept “the direct result” portion of it, when you have governments in Mexico whose policies leave so many of their citizens little alternative but to flee north and whose idea of encouraging growth consists of relying on remittances of its citizens who live and work under miserable conditions. I have no doubt that the tightening of the border has worsened the situation, but the utter inaction by the government of Mexico is something you ignore.
But to say that Mexico could somehow just flip a switch and end corruption or provide decent education and jobs to everyone is simply wishful thinking.
Please show me where I wrote that? No one in power in Mexico is interested in changing the status quo, and frankly, this comment of yours:
completely takes the Mexican government off the hook. Your claim that you support AMLO 100% is, frankly not borne out by your essentially removing much of the responsibility for the circumstances being what they are from 70 + years of the PRI and ten years of the PAN being in power.
August 26th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Because I don’t accept “the direct result” portion of it
Ok Randy, crappy Mexican social and economic does indeed share some responsibility for the extent of migration. But it has no responsibility for the deaths.
One more time:
1990s – tons more migration, hardly any border deaths.
2000s – less migration, thousands of border deaths
What has changed? Mexican education and social results have marginally improved. Corruption is better, by most accounts. So how can Mexico be to blame for the huge jump in deaths? What changed from the 90s to now? If not US border policy, what?
August 27th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
El Pejelagarto (El Peje) has much to teach…I see him as a Lula del Norte..
When one considers the retribution heaped on Mexico for the temerity of electing Cardenas, who then seized the oil.. it is a miracle that the PRD even came into being.
El Peje likes his bread-crust hard and his wine blood red.
He arrived at his inauguration in his battered Tsuru and at the moment he was sworn in as mayor he spoke to the crowd (with Fox and Carlos Slim just a few feet away), “Los pobres primeros!” repeated 15 times, telling the PAN and the nation that he would govern from the Left.
So began El Peje’s pyramid, the Segundo Piso, built to Aztec proportions, and timed to have sections completed just before elections in 2003 and 2006.
Instructive for liberals because the PRI-oxymoron dinosaur (a revolutionary institution??) which left stillborn the promise of agrarian reform for over 70 years was broken AND (despite attempts by the US to kill it) a left coalition in the form of a viable third party has actually won two federal elections (though denied office) and offers a true Progressive platform .
Something to mull over while you consider the evil of the two lessors next election…
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