The U.S. border crossing can become a deadly journey without a destination
The recent massacre at a ranch in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas left 72 migrants
A shrine for a 14-year-old immigrant girl, who died crossing the border
dead and one wounded survivor. This tragedy emphasizes how enforcement on the border between the United States and Mexico is a crucial and urgent component of the highly anticipated immigration overhaul bill.
These barbaric crimes are shocking and they make us reflect about the responsibility of family members and friends who encourage the dangerous journey through the desert – not always taking into consideration the numerous risks that migrants face nowadays while in the hands of coyotes or in the sights of soldiers from drug cartels operating on or near the US border.
Crossing the U.S.-Mexican border today is not what it was 10 years ago, when the main risk migrants faced involved being picked up by immigration agents or coming into contact with natural elements in the desert, such as the intense heat and wild animals.
These days, the crossing has become a lucrative business, controlled not necessarily by the gangs involved in human trafficking but increasingly by the powerful drug cartels. With seemingly unlimited access and in possession of military arms, these drug dealers see in the immigrant who risks his or her own life in pursuit of a dream an opportunity to extort money or to recruit for a life of crime – or even as a target for death in case they resist and refuse to follow demands.
In the Tamaulipas massacre on Aug. 24, 72 people died – 58 men and 14 women –all found in a place close to San Fernando, after the only survivor, the Ecuadorian Luis Fredy Lala Pomavilla, showed up at a highway checkpoint of the Mexican Marines. He reported that he had been attacked by a drug gang and that he had escaped.
Regardless of the financial res- traints one faces in his or her homeland – concerns about the constant lack of safety, the absence of opportunities to grow and to acquire success, the lack of hope – the choice to do the crossing can too easily become a deadly game of Russian roulette.
Many embark upon that journey, but many more never make it to the end to fulfill their dreams. In reality, the dream dies when the dreamer loses his or her life – what a high price to pay; one not worth paying.
For family members who thought that perhaps one day they would benefit from the courage of their dear ones and come to America, all that is left is the emptiness of a permanent and inconsolable loss, especially when the death occurred with such brutality as in Tamaulipas.
It is during times like this that people realize how serious the illegal crossing actually is and the consequences it can bring.
Many people question why the families of these 72 migrants didn’t try to stop them from going; others justify the act and say, “It was really bad luck.” But there are also those who really take into consideration whether the whole enterprise is really worth it.
Well, is it?
