the Border

From the air, flying south of Phoenix, a perfect grid of roads divides the land into large squares of farmland that are interrupted occasionally by irrigated crop circles, or mountains. Past a certain point the Sonoran desert becomes desert again, stretching south past Tuscon, Nogales and beyond; miles and miles of dry scrub land, seemingly empty of any life.

The Sonoran desert however, is currently the busiest sector for migrants crossing. Known as the Tuscon sector, it is here that a substantial amount of migrants are apprehended daily by border patrol; 378,000 in 2007 alone, an average of more than 1,000 a day.

The Tuscon sector covers 262 miles of desert, from Yuma county line to the Arizona, New Mexico state line. The ‘immigration highway’ travels through tough and dangerous desert terrain, the way through is impossible without paying the ‘coyotes’ or guides. Thousands of people risk it everyday in an attempt to reach America and the possibility of work, and
many don’t make it through; they get lost and die of dehydration or exposure , get picked up by Border patrol, or become victim to gangs that prey on them.

At the comfortably air conditioned Tuscon Federal Court, one can witness Operation Arizona Denial Prosecution Initiative in progress. The initiative, in effect since January 2008, is Arizona's latest response to illegal immigration and is modeled on a similar initiative in Texas. The initiative criminally prosecutes 60 ‘randomly selected’ migrants out of every 1000 detained by border patrol. This daily quota of 60 detainees is criminally charged ‘en-masse’ for illegal entry. The entire court proceeding takes approximately 45 minutes. Those caught with no previous convictions are given a criminal misdemeanor record and deported, those with prior convictions are sentenced and sent by the Federal Marshall to a private prison facility in Florence which is operated by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). CCA receives between 10 and 12 million dollars a month from the government for this service. Deportees are transported to the Mariposa border gate at Nogales, by a private security transport firm, Wackenhut. Wackenhut has a 5 year 250 million dollar contract with the government to transport deported migrants.

Nogales Mexico is divided from Nogales, USA, by a border wall constructed out of decommissioned landing strips from the first Gulf War. Flat roofed houses spill over the sides of brown eroded hills. There are some work opportunities here in the US owned maquilladores, but most deportees will return to a ‘port of entry’ further south to try and enter the US again. According to the Center for Migrants (Centro Comunitario de Atención a Migrantes y Necesitados), CCAMYN, 65% of migrants attempting to enter illegally fail on their first attempt; most will try to 3-5 times, and as many as 96% eventually make it. Whether the criminalization of illegal entry will change these numbers remains to be seen.

One and a half hours south of Nogales, the town of Altar, Sonora, Mexico is a hub for migrants preparing to cross. It is connected to the border town of Sasabe, by a 98 k dirt road. Migrants come from as far south as Central America, to this bleak, dusty town, to find a coyote to lead them from Sasabe, on the four-day walk, through the desert, to Tucson. Altar has profited immensely from the migrant economy. Once not much more than a cow town- it has doubled in size in the last 10 years, providing lodging, food, transport and coyote guides to migrants. In the town square, migrants gather to find a coyote. Stores surrounding the square sell backpacks and water bottles.

Migrants are also known as 'chickens', and the coyotes that lead them as ‘polleros’. The migrants stay in cheap and rudimentary ‘hospitality houses’ in Altar and are at the mercy of their guides, literally placing their lives in their hands. A coyote can cost as much as $3000 US. The town has an impression of lawlessness; certainly there is no visible sign of police. A well controlled system of hundreds of numbered vans and buses regularly make the trip to Sasabe. The cost is approximately 70 pesos. Armed, masked men reportedly control the road, and traveling without their protection is extremely dangerous.

The official figure is that 500 people a year die trying to cross the desert, but its probable that only one third of the dead are found, as a body can decompose and disappear within 10 days in this environment. Causes of documented death include exposure, hypothermia and the victims of gangs that rob them of the little they are carrying, often leaving them with nothing and sometimes, dead. Coyotes mislead their chickens into believing that the journey will only take a few hours, and not three to five days of strenuous walking through intense heat with only the water they can carry.

Crossing the border was not always such a daunting, dangerous task. In the early 1990’s the San Diego and El Paso sectors of the border were the busiest. Operation Hold the Line in El Paso, begun in 1993, and Operation Gatekeeper, in San Diego, provided added patrols and checkpoints to those sectors, and in effect, funneled the migrant traffic through this southwest desert area, perceived by to be too difficult to cross by foot or vehicle due to the rugged terrain, and desert.


NAFTA was supposed to reduce immigration by bolstering Mexico’s GDP with free trade initiatives. According to a report by The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, “It was ebulliently predicted by these incorrigible NAFTA optimists that by approximately 2024, Mexican GDP per capita would be half that of the United States and through trade liberalization policies, immigration would no longer occur in such high volumes as to create concerns. ” Mexican GDP, was one quarter that of the US in 2006.

Organizations and People

John Fife: John is a former pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson and one of the founding members of the Sanctuary Movement.

No More Deaths: No More Deaths is a diverse coalition of individuals, faith communities, human rights advocates, and grassroots organizers who work for justice along the U.S.- Mexico border, that includes movable desert camps, support of migrant aid centers, maintenance of water stations, Samaritan patrols that search the desert for migrants in need, and advocacy on behalf of migrant-related issues.

Grupos Beta. Mexico: Grupos Beta is a federally funded agency that offers basic services and information to migrants who are heading north on the desert and its dangers as well as their rights once they cross into the U.S. They also offer limited shelter and food to repatriated migrants and work with the Mexican consulates in the U.S. to locate missing people or to coordinate rescue missions.

DIF Shelter for Repatriated Minors:houses children between the ages of 14-17 who attempt to cross the border alone in search of work to support their families or to reunite with parents already in the United States.

CCAMYN (Centro Comunitario de Atención a Migrantes y Necesitados / Attention Center for Migrants and those in Need): CCAMYN is a catholic center located in Altar, Sonora, Mexico that offers free lodging and food for migrants heading north. The purpose is to give vulnerable migrants, who are often taken advantage of by their “guides,” a free and safe place to stay. They also give advice concerning dangers that they may face and encourage the migrants to watch out for each other.