Border Deaths

Oscar Abraham Garcia, 22, of Tijuana, Mexico, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two deaths occurred within days of each other which have involved immigrants trying to cross the US and Mexico border.

One death occurred Thursday in the San Diego border region and it involved an alleged smuggler of illegals. The incident resulted in the death of suspected smuggler Oscar Abraham Garcia. A local NBC news channel provides the following story and video footage here.

"The shooting took place Thursday afternoon after U.S. agents surroundeda sport utility vehicle that was under surveillance on suspicion ofimmigrant smuggling, police said. The driver refused to get out,and when agents smashed the vehicle's window with a baton, heaccelerated in the direction of five U.S. agents blocking his path and"nearly pinned an agent standing next to the vehicle," said San Diegopolice Lt. Jeff Sferra."

Another incident involved the death of a 3-year-old boy this past Sunday. The boy died of dehydration after a smuggler reportedly abandoned him and his mother after the boy got sick. The mother survived after wandering through the desert for a day. The mother was picked up by the Border Patrol near Sells, Arizona and later informed authorities about leaving her son in the desert. A search team found the boys body in the Tohono O'odham Reservation.

Dr. Eric Peters Pima County's Deputy Chief Medical Examiner who has the grim task of dealing the bodies of dead migrants made this observation in October 10, 2005.

"It was a nonexistent problem five or six years ago," he said. "Now, it's to the point where we just assume it's part of our daily workload, because we don't really foresee any change in this problem, unless I-don't-know-what is done."

In that same article Prof. Wayne Cornelius, Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies at UC San Diego said:

"We keep ratcheting up the enforcement in areas that were previously safe, and it's pushing the traffic into more dangerous areas all along the border."

As more barriers get erected and entry into the United States becomes more difficult desperate migrants will continue to place their lives in danger with smugglers who are likely to become more brazen and reckless.

The fact that congress is considering a number of measures that can potentially provide a path to legalization for the millions of illegals already in the United States may increase illegal border crossings.

The potential lack of political stability and economic instability from the upcoming July 2006 presidential elections in Mexico is likely to produce a flood of new immigrants desperate to enter this country especially given the violent incidents occuring in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico.

Technorati Tags: Atenco, immigration, "migrant deaths", Mexico