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Donald Kerwin led a webinar on October 16 discussing migrant deaths, emphasizing the importance of more than just counting them. "Accounting for deaths means more than simply counting or listing them... It means identifying the deceased, investigating the deaths, determining their causes, and repatriating the remains to their loved ones," he stated.
Kerwin is an editor of the "Journal on Migration and Human Security" and former executive director of the Center for Migration Studies in New York. He made these comments during his opening remarks at a webinar titled "The Untold Story: Migrant Deaths Along the U.S.-Mexico Border and Beyond."
He provided insight into the webinar's focus based on a special edition of the journal titled "Forced Migration, Deterrence, and Solutions to the Unnatural Disaster of Migrant Deaths Along the U.S.-Mexico Border and Beyond." This collection explores various topics, from establishing a centralized approach to documenting deaths to examining how asylum restrictions like Title 42 have contributed to increased migrant deaths.
Title 42 is a U.S. public health law provision from 1944 allowing migration restrictions for public health protection. It was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic under Donald Trump's administration and continued under Biden until January 2023.
"They are human beings in every case, and they deserve a dignified end," emphasized Kerwin before introducing speakers Courtney Siegert, Heather Edgar, and Daniel Martínez.
Siegert discussed post-pandemic migration changes along with challenges faced by medicolegal systems. "We are seeing a shift in routes along the Texas-Mexico border," she said, noting that cities like Eagle Pass in Texas are now overwhelmed by crossings and deaths.
She pointed out demographic changes as well: "This is a global issue with many people recently identified coming from outside the Americas."
Edgar described New Mexico's past as lacking information due to its low migrant death rate but noted recent changes since 2021. She explained New Mexico's centralized forensic system where local police call her office when a deceased individual is found.
Fingerprinting plays an essential role in identification; however, without records in Border Patrol systems, other techniques such as dental X-rays or DNA are used despite being costly due to lack of state facilities processing bone-derived DNA.
Martínez shared findings from Arizona highlighting demographic shifts among migrants seeking asylum. He criticized increasing difficulties imposed by states against initiating or completing asylum processes despite legal rights: "Expulsions under Title 42... used COVID-19 as an excuse to prevent asylum seekers from even starting their process."
He linked migrant deaths with efforts restricting access to asylum systems based on Pima County Medical Examiner's Office records documenting over 4,000 recovered remains between 1990-2023 in southern Arizona.
"The remains of 4,000 people have been recovered... what does that mean?" asked Martínez rhetorically before reminding readers about personal connections each deceased person held within communities both abroad and domestically.
Maria del Pilar Guzman reports for OSV News from Boston.
