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标题：Unauthorized Border Crossings and Migrant Deaths: Arizona, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, 2002–2003
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作者：Sanjeeb Sapkota ; Harold W. Kohl ; III 等
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2006
卷号：96
期号：7
页码：1282-1287
DOI：10.2105/AJPH.2005.075168
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：Objectives. We examined the major causes of and risk factors for death among migrants who died while making unauthorized border crossings into the United States from Mexico. Methods. Decedents were included in the study if (1) their remains were found between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003, in any US county along the 650-mi (1040-km) section of the US–Mexican border from Yuma, Ariz, to El Paso, Tex; (2) their immigration status was unauthorized; and (3) they were believed to have died during transit from Mexico to the United States. Characteristics of the decedents and causes of and risk factors for their deaths were examined. Results. Among the 409 decedents meeting our inclusion criteria, environmental heat exposure (n=250; 61.1%) was the leading cause of death, followed by vehicle crashes (n=33; 8.1%) and drownings (n=24; 5.9%). Male decedents (n= 298; 72.8%) outnumbered female decedents (n = 105; 25.6%) nearly 3 to 1. More than half of the decedents were known to be Mexican nationals (n=235; 57.5%) and were aged 20 to 39 years (n=213; 52.0%); the nationality of 148 (36.2%) decedents was undetermined. Conclusions. Deaths among migrants making unauthorized crossings of the US–Mexican border are due to causes that are largely preventable. Prevention strategies should target young Mexican men, and focus on preventing them from conceiving plans to cross the border, discouraging them from using dangerous routes as crossing points, and providing search-and-rescue teams to locate lost or injured migrant crossers. Unauthorized immigration is not uncommon 1 ^– 12 ; it has been documented from North Africa to southern European countries, from Cambodia and Laos to Thailand, and from Mexico and Central and South American countries to the United States. 1 ^, 2 ^, 5 ^, 7 The US–Mexican border is 1980 mi (3168 km) long and extends from San Diego, Calif, to Brownsville, Tex. 13 It has 43 official entry points through which people and vehicles are authorized to enter the United States. 14 In 2003, there were 246 million authorized entries into the United States from Mexico, making this border one of the busiest in the world. 15 Although there is no reliable source of data on the number of people who make unauthorized crossings of the US–Mexican border, immigration statistics show that, in 2002, almost 1 million unauthorized migrants were captured and repatriated (hereafter “apprehended”) while trying to cross, approximately 1 apprehension for every 250 legal entries. 15 Most of these unauthorized migrants were from Mexico. 15 Numbers of apprehensions, however, are far lower than actual numbers of unauthorized migrants. Many migrants escape being apprehended, and others make multiple crossings whether they have been apprehended or not. From 1995 to 2000, an estimated 225 to 370 migrants died annually in the United States after making an unauthorized northbound crossing of the US–Mexican border. 11 ^, 12 To escape the heightened surveillance of the US Border Patrol and other authorities that guard the border, these migrants often choose dangerous paths through remote desert and mountainous terrains and sometimes cross hazardous rivers. Although some unauthorized migrants enter the United States to seek asylum, most enter for economic reasons. 1 ^, 2 ^, 7 ^, 10 ^, 11 Per capita incomes in the United States are 5 to 7 times higher than those of Mexico and most Central and South American countries. 16 ^, 17 Because opportunities for legal entry into the United States to seek employment are limited, people resort to unauthorized attempts to gain entry. 17 Deaths among unauthorized migrants are emerging as a major public health issue that is intertwined with social, economic, and political factors. Only a few limited studies, however, have examined the characteristics of decedents who have died crossing the border. 11 ^, 12 We sought to delineate the demographic characteristics of decedents who died attempting to make unauthorized crossings of the US–Mexican border and identify the major causes of and risk factors for their deaths.