Human rights and undocumented migration along the Mexican-U.S. border

Between 1990 and 2002, there have been more than 300 dead and missing unauthorized immigrants and 15,000,000 apprehensions and deportations along the Mexican-US border. The strategy of US authorities has forced undocumented immigrants to pay higher prices to "coyote guides," providing enormous financial incentives for smuggling. The worst effect of US border policy, however, is that undocumented immigrants face a border fraught with dangers of death, serious bodily injury, robbery, swindling, molestation, and other assaults. This article explores the problems of immigrant deaths and analyzes whether there is evidence of human rights violations in US border strategy or in the passive Mexican authorities' attitude. It argues that the Mexican and US governments have equal responsibility for the problem of immigration deaths. There is no clear evidence to charge authorities with systematic human rights violations; nevertheless, the deaths of unauthorized immigrants need to be stopped through rapid and humane solutions.