The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail

The US-Mexican border migration policy is a contentious and evolving issue, reflecting broader debates on immigration, security, and human rights in the United States. Over the years, the US has implemented various measures to control and manage migration flows from Mexico, focusing on legal pathways to citizenship and enforcement against unauthorized entry. Efforts in the early 2000s focused on enforcement. The establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002, the creation of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2003, and policies like the Secure Fence Act of 2006 have aimed to enhance border security through physical barriers, increased surveillance, and deployment of border patrol agents. Advocates of these policies aim to deter potential undocumented migrants and deport those who have made unauthorized entry. They argue that leniency and creating paths to citizenship will encourage people to immigrate without documentation, and they fear the potential crime and lack of resources that could result from sustaining a large undocumented population on US territory.

Other efforts have included proposals for comprehensive immigration reform and the creation of pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2012 and the Earned Citizenship program in 2013, both of which allowed children who were brought to the US undocumented through no fault of their own to gain citizenship by meeting certain criteria.