Each year, hundreds of migrants from Mexico and the rest of Latin America die crossing the US border in search of work and a better life. Below you can explore the US policies that have pushed migrants into the desert, the nature of US border security programs, massive infrastructure construction on the border, and the impact that immigration reform could have on them all.

Migrant Deaths

• Border Deaths Packet (pdf)
  An overview of the dangerous ramifications of deterrence based policies such as building walls and exponentially multiplying the number of border patrol agents. April 2006
  
• Border Death Chart 2007
  A detailed chart with specifics on individual migrant deaths border wide for each year
  
• Border Death Chart 2006
  A detailed chart with specifics on individual migrant deaths border wide for each year
  
• Border Death Chart 2005
  A detailed chart with specifics on individual migrant deaths border wide for each year.
  
• Migrant Deaths 2000 - 2006
  A comparative chart of migrant deaths by Border Patrol sector from 2000-2006
  
• Migrant Apprehensions 2000-2004 (pdf)
  The Border Patrol uses apprehension statistics to measure the flow of undocumented migration through different regions of the border.
  
• Opposition to Border Arrests
  In July 2005, two humanitarian aid volunteer workers were arrested for transporting sick migrants to receive medical attention. Read the sign on letter opposing their arrests.
  
• Does the Border Patrol Keep Accurate Records on Border Deaths?
  Controversy has raged for the past few years over discrepencies between migrant death statistics kept by the border patrol and those kept by non-governmental sources.
  This article explains why you should be skeptical about border patrol statistics.
  
• Are U.S. Trade Policies Driving Migrants North?
  NAFTA, CAFTA and other U.S. trade policies have had disastrous affects on Latin America's poor. Learn how these policies are forcing migrants north in order to feed their families.
  
• Humanitarians at the Border
  Read the first-hand perspective of a volunteer who spent a week providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in need in the Arizona desert this summer.
  
• Faith-based Responses to Migrant Deaths
  Judeo-Christian communities have a long tradition of welcoming the stranger based firmly in the teachings of scripture. Learn how that perspective plays into the trajedy of migrant deaths.
  
• On Track for the Deadliest Summer Ever?
  U.S. border security policies continue to push migrants into the most hostile stretches of desert in the country. Will these policies produce record number deaths as the summer begins in the Southwest?
  
• Economic Push Factors Driving Migrants North
  Migrants leave home to look for work in the United States for multiple reasons. Learn about these so called push factors. (pdf)
  
• Migrant Smugglers: Friend or Foe?
  Migrant smugglers have been demonized by U.S. and Mexican policy makers. Yet, without their help, many more migrants would die each summer on the treacherous path through the desert. (pdf)
  
• Children at Risk
  As U.S. borders tighten and migrant parents find it more difficult to visit their families at home, children are coming north in search of their parents. Learn about these unintended victims of U.S. border policy. (pdf)
  
• Message on a Bottle Campaign
  A visual tool to educate public and policy-makers on the realities of migrant deaths.

Border Security

• La Frontera Olvidada
  The nature of migrant flows over Mexico’s southern “forgotten” border has changed dramatically in recent decades. As the armed conflicts in Central America ended, the migrating population at Mexico’s southern border shifted from political refugees to a growing number of migrants fleeing poverty,
  underemployment, crime and violence, and devastation caused by an unrelenting series of natural disasters. (April 2008)

• The Environmental and Economic Cost of Expanded Border Fencing
  Further extending existing U.S/Mexico border fencing represents a huge capital investment. In addition, the fence will exact a heavy toll on the environment. An interview with a recently arrived migrant follows. September 2006 (pdf)
  
• Border Security Legislative Overview
  A quick overview of negative border security proposals in Congress, including an interview with a recent migrant who has crossed the U.S.- Mexico border.
  
• The Diane Rehm Show
  Listen to LAWG staff, Sean Garcia, comment on President Bush's May 15 speech on immigration and political prospects for reform.
  
• Border Population Demographics
  If the border was a city, it would be the country's 4th largest. If it was a state, it would be the 13th largest, and the 3rd poorest. Learn more about this little-understood region.
  
• Arizona Fencing Facts (pdf)
  Arizona is the frontline for border militarization with almost four hundred miles of border with Mexico, the Border Patrol is looking at dramaticall increasing fencing in this state. Learn about the proposals that are currently out there to fence off Arizona.
  
• San Diego Fencing Facts (pdf)
  As the Border Patrol begins to implement plans to finish its fourteen mile long fence in the San Diego Region, this peice discusses the costso of this wreckless policy.
  
• Environmental Impacts of Border Enforcement
  Security along the U.S. - Mexico border impacts not only human life, but has negative consequences for the fragile environment and endangered species of the borderlands.
  
• An Ever Expanding Border
  Border security policies do not just impact communities at the border itself. Increasingly, the border patrol is using the border as a laboratory for policies that are later applied nationwide.
  
• Real ID is a Real Disappointment
  The passage of the Real ID Act is bad for border and immigrant communities. Learn about all the ways it affects them in this article.
  
• How the Real ID Act Impacts Border Communities
  The Real ID Act provides for sweeping authority to allow the Border Patrol to expand fencing along the U.S. - Mexico border without checks and balance from other government agencies. Read this to learn more.
  
• Opposing the Real ID Act
  The Real ID Act threatens to remove the checks and balances that have limited the use of fencing along the U.S. - Mexico border. Read a sign-on letter from the NGO community opposing this bill.
  
• Arizona Fencing Projects Exposed
  A breakdown of the current and proposed infrastructure in Arizona.
  
• Are Migrants a New Breed of Terrorist? The US Government Thinks So...
  A review of US anti-migrant policies in the post-September 11th period. (pdf)
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• The Southwest Border Strategy - A Failed Policy
  U.S. border policy dates back to 1993. Yet, in its ten year history it has failed to accomplish any of the goals set out for it. Learn more about its flawed strategy here.
  
• Border Drugs
  Border Patrol Statistics demonstrate that the majority of illegal drugs entering the U.S. come through legal ports of entry.

Immigration

• Fighting Injustice: The New Sanctuary Movement
  Anti-immigrant legislation and sentiment have sparked the return of the 1980's Sanctuary Movement. The New Sanctuary Movement continues the tradition of standing up for human and immigrant rights in opposition to unjust policies. May 2007
  
• Border Pollution and Poverty Put Children at Risk
  Children living at the border or crossing the border are especially vulnerable to abuse and disproportionately suffer from poverty and ill health. An interview with a recently arrived migrant follows. August 2006 (pdf)
  
• Trade Liberalization, Off-Shoring and Immigration
  U.S. immigration policy must account for the economic push-pull factors that are driving migration, and be guided by human-centered principles. July 2006 (pdf)
  
• The Immigration Morass
  A brief update on the legislation in the House and Senate on immigration reform and border security. July 2006
  
• The Feminization of Migration
  While migration to the U.S. continues unabated, the demographics of migrants are shifting. As more women make the dangerous trek north, they face special challenges, obstacles, and threats to their safety. June 2006
  
• Immigration Reform: Are We a Nation of Immigrants?
  A brief update on legislative activity on immigration reform
  March 2006
  
• End of Year Immigration Review
  At the end of 2005 we now see multiple bills in congress dealing with immigration reform and border security. This action alert advises activists of a variety of bills in Congress including the most extreme anti-immigrant proposals, and includes suggestions for how to promote true comprehensive immigration reform over the winter holidays.
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• Kennedy/McCain Talking Points
  Explore the pros and cons of the most prominent immigration reform bill to date. These talking points provide easy facts for activists to use when talking about the bill.
  
• Details of the Kennedy/McCain Bill (pdf)
  As the only serious comprehensive immigration reform bill introduced in Congress, the Kennedy/McCain bill provides border and immigrant communities with hope. This document is a comprehensive summary of the bill's contents.
  
• Brief summary of the Kennedy/McCain Bill
  A great overview for first timers dealing with immigration reform, this easy to read summary goes over the major provisions of this bill and discusses the pros and cons of each section as well.
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• Provisiones internacionales del proyecto del ley Kennedy/McCain (pdf)
  El proyecto del ley de reforma migratoria propuesto por los Senadores Kennedy y McCain propone una mayor colaboración entre los Estados Unidos y los paises centroamericanos y con México. Este documento es una traducción de estas provisiones.
  
• Kyl/Cornyn Talking Points
  An anti-migrant response to the Kennedy/McCain bill, Congress is none the less taking this proposal seriously. Here are all the reasons to oppose this bill.
  
• Faith-based Principles for Immigration Reform
  The faith-based community under the umbrella of the Arizona based No More Deaths Campaign has developed a series of principles to guide policy makers in their debates around immigration reform. Read them here.
  
• The ABC's of Immigration Reform
  Comprehensive immigration reform deals with a wide range of issues. Learn about the essential components that any bill must contain to truly be considered comprehensive. (pdf)
  
• Immigration Statistics
  Border Patrol statistics show that there has been a negligible drop in migration over the past ten years.