The Anthropology Of Genocide - WNLibrary

the u.s.-mexican border region 331
the border and whose bodies were found. The researchers believe the actual number
who died to be much higher, but their bodies have not been located. Many of
the twelve hundred died of the extreme heat of the desert, where daytime temperatures
routinely reach 120 to 125 degrees. Others drowned in the Rio Bravo/Rio
Grande, or were hit by cars, in some instances while being chased by the Border
Patrol or the military.
Between January and early September of 1998, at least one hundred corpses
turned up in southeastern California alone. This is the most remote, hottest, and
driest part of the border region. The discovery of five desiccated bodies in a single
location in August 1998 unleashed a flood of apparent concern, and numerous
new signs telling of the dangers of summer crossings were posted in isolated areas.
Further, warnings about the heat and lack of water in the desert were broadcast on
Spanish-language radio stations that service the border region. These official gestures,
however, obscure the official U.S. policy that forces migrants away from the
more populated and therefore safer areas. Bodies continue to be found, especially
in the summer. Drowning or dying of heat exhaustion and dehydration in the desert
to escape the Border Patrol is no less violent than being shot.
INS officials contend that prompt apprehension and immediate return to the
country of origin is still the best deterrent to illegal immigration. In spite of the
hazards and repeated “voluntary” deportations, most migrants who are apprehended
simply try again later. “How many times have you crossed?” anthropologist
Michael Kearney asked a migrant from Oaxaca during a 1988 NBC special
on the “New Immigrants.” “Oh, at least one hundred times,” replied the man. “And
why do you come back?” “Because there is work.” He and others have told us of
many traumatic experiences having to do with hunger, thirst, heat and cold, harrowing
chases through the underbrush, injuries suffered as a result of captures, and
verbal and physical abuse by citizens (Nagengast et al. 1992; Zabin et al. 1993; Nagengast
and Kearney 1990). As Estevan Torres, Democratic member of Congress
from California, remarked, “We will catch a few [illegal migrants], round them up,
and send them back, but not too many, because then who will do the work?” (quoted
in Andreas 1994:233). Indeed, increased surveillance seems not to have seriously
affected the number of undocumented workers. All reports suggest that as of mid-
2000 there were between five and six million undocumented workers in the United
States. That is at least as many as there were in 1986. One might reasonably conclude
that many of the controls implemented on the U.S.-Mexico border, violent
though they may be, are not really intended to prevent all workers from crossing;
their purpose is to control and regulate the flow of labor power to agriculture and
business in North America (Cockcroft 1986; Dunn 1996; Andreas 2000).
The Border Patrol and, more broadly speaking, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS)—both arms of the U.S. government—have been charged with responsibility
for numerous instances of violence against Latinos in the border region.
The stated mission of the Border Patrol is to, among other things, prevent drug runners,
terrorists, and illegal migrants from penetrating the borders of the United States.