Immigration reform is a growing topic of debate in Washington. Many of these proposals have the potential to reduce the number of migrants who die crossing into the U.S. each year, and to improve the lives of millions of people. Included below is a review of the initial proposal set forward by President Bush, a series of questions you can ask during debates and town hall meetings in your community, and background on our current immigration policies.

On January 8, 2004, President Bush opened the doors to a national debate on immigration policy in the U.S. While his proposal leaves much to be desired, it provides activists across the country with an opportunity to raise the questions of how immigration reform should be properly executed. With this in mind, the Border Working Group is excited to provide information on how to discuss human rights in the context of immigration reform. We hope this will be a useful tool for grassroots activists concerned about the lives of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.

As you know, the next few months will provide citizens across the country with opportunities to meet with candidates running for President, the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. These debates and town hall meetings can give you an opportunity to get candidates on the record about how they intend to stem the death of hundreds of migrants a year. Below, you will find a summary of some of the issues any immigration reform proposal should address in order to stop these deaths, and questions you can ask candidates. By clicking here, you can find background on how current border security strategies lead to migrant deaths or www.rtfcam.org/border/border.htm for more background.

Concerns about President Bush’s Immigration Proposal

Currently, the Bush proposal for immigration reform does not provide specific plans that would allow migrants to pursue permanent residency and citizenship in the U.S. Unless migrants who want to stay in the country can do so efficiently, they will most likely revert to the illegal means of entering the country that result in unnecessary deaths.

• The loss of human life that has resulted from our out of date immigration policies is shocking – since 1998, over 2,000 people have died attempting to enter the United States undetected. In the Border Patrol’s FY2003 (Oct ’02-Oct ’03) alone, at least 346 people died entering the country.
• At the height of the summer months, Border Patrol officials often find 5 or 6 bodies a day in the desert.
• Deaths are not limited just to the hot summer. In the winter months, migrants die of hypothermia in the mountains. On December 30, 2003, Tiburcio Us-Chan of Mexico was found dead in the Arizona mountains of hypothermia.

Currently, the Bush proposal would only allow workers to bring their family members to the United States if they can provide financial support for them. Current waits to bring a family member into the country can exceed 5 years. In light of this situation, families may continue to use illegal channels to reunite.

• In the first nine months of 2003, the Border Patrol repatriated 9,800 minors who crossed the southwest border unaccompanied. In 2002, that number was 9,900 children.
• Many of these minors are very young children. The number of repatriated unaccompanied minors under 13 was 1300 in 2002 and 1500 by September 2003.
• While there are no available comprehensive Border Patrol statistics available on children who die crossing the border, there are dozens of documented cases where minors have died.

Currently, the Bush proposal contains no details of how it will reorganize the U.S. Border Patrol to decrease its southwestern focus on undocumented workers to terrorists. Furthermore, the current Border Patrol Southwest Border Strategy does not effectively combat terrorism.

• The Southwest Border Strategy, which encompasses Operation Gatekeeper in San Diego and Operation Hold the Line in El Paso, was created in 1994 to deter migrants. Despite a tripling of Border Patrol staff and resources since 1994, the flow of migrants into the U.S. has continued unabated.
• Existing Border Patrol planning documents in the post-September 11 period make vague references to terrorism, yet all of their concrete projects are still aimed specifically at stemming the tide of migrants.
• According to an Associated Press investigation, the Border Patrol’s southwest strategy has not stopped even one known militant from slipping into America.
• As the Border Patrol’s focus shifts towards anti-terrorism work, the southwest border strategy should be reevaluated in order to eliminate policies that harm border communities, such as racial profiling and militaristic tactics.

Click here for questions for Presidential Candidates

Click here for more information on why current border policy causes deaths