Calling All Humanitarians, World Citizens,
and Persons with a social conscience...

Did you know that...

Each and every year more than 1,000 undocumented foreign nationals die on U.S. soil in their attempts to seek a better life for themselves and their loved ones?

And that less than 15% of these victims are ever positively identified?

And that even fewer yet are ever returned to their homes so that they may be buried by family members and loved ones in a decent and dignified manner?

And that the remainder, after having spent months in refrigerated storage bins, are finally unceremoniously thrown into common burial graves in remote parts of the border region, without Last Rites, Benediction, or even a word of kindness or compassion to mark their passing?

Number of Mexican Border Deaths See Drastic Increase

Each year here along the frontier border zone of the United States more than 1,000 undocumented foreign nationals die in search of a better life, not only for themselves, but for their parents, children, and loved ones as well. Unfortunately, because of the harsh and dangerous conditions

which exist in the frontier region, the dreams of many of these impoverished and humble people become a cruel, harsh, and bitter nightmare as they die from exposure, injuries, dehydration, and even rape, robbery, and assault by criminal elements looking to prey upon the weak and defenseless.

Since the launch of “Operation Gatekeeper” by U.S. Federal Border Authorities in October 1994, the annual number of deaths among undocumented foreign nationals trying to enter this country has tripled. Operation Gatekeeper has NOT succeeded in eliminating unauthorized border crossing. The only thing it has done is push an already poor and impoverished people further and further out into more harsh, barren, and dangerous territory, which has caused a drastic increase in injuries and death amongst those attempting unauthorized entry into this country.

Latino Victims In Legal Limbo

As tragic as the present situation is, the greatest tragedy is what becomes of the bodies of these victims after their death. For many reasons such as lack of funding, lack of manpower and resources, and even lack of desire, less than 15% of these victims are ever identified or claimed, and even fewer still are ever returned to their countries of origin for proper burial.

When such bodies of “OTA” (Other Than American) victims are found, they are routinely placed in makeshift refrigerated storage trailers for 3-4 months in hopes that the bodies will be identified or claimed. When continued storage of the remains of these victims is no longer practical or possible, the bodies are then tossed quite unceremoniously into cheap coffins made of particle board, and are buried at mass burial sites out in remote desert areas without Last Rites, without Benediction, without even a final word of farewell to mark the passing of their lives. Unfortunately, because of a decidedly anti-immigrant atmosphere which exists in much of our society, there is very little mercy or compassion shown towards those who die in their attempts to reach this country each year.

To make matters worse, most of these Latino/Hispanic victims are simply caught up and forgotten in a literal “legal limbo”. Because of our U.S. constitutional right of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, deceased victims found in this harsh desert border region cannot be “presumed” to be undocumented aliens, as that would require the presumption of guilt without benefit of trial or representation. Regardless of the circumstances, the individual must be presumed to be either a U.S. citizen, or a foreign national here legally.

An American Shame...Our “Dual Standard”
For Undocumented Victims

Because of this constitutional guarantee of the presumption of innocence, theoretically, what should happen is that the death of each and every victim found dead on U.S soil in the U.S./Mexico border zone be investigated using all the resources at the disposal of our local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, and that every possible attempt be made to identify the victim, notify next of kin and return the deceased to their family for proper burial.

Unfortunately, that is not, nor ever has been, the reality. Because it seems likely that most of these victims are undocumented foreign nationals who died attempting to enter the country illegally, only a very token effort is made to establish the identities of these victims, much less repatriate them. Since the implementation of Operation Gatekeeper, these victims are mostly discovered in the harsh, sparsely populated hard scrabble counties along the U.S./Mexico border who have neither the funding or resources to allow identification of these victims. In some instances, DNA samples may be sent to the U.S. Federal NCIC Database in hopes of a match, but that is very unlikely, as the NCIC only keeps data on convicted criminals, and most victims are unlikely ever to have even been in the U.S. before. Unless positive identification can be established, this person will spend the rest of eternity in a common grave somewhere in the desert.

Baylor University presently has a DNA testing program funded partially through the Bush Administrations’ recent DNA Initiative, but because of a lack of adequate funding, the absence of a standardized protocol for reporting deaths or submitting requests for testing, along with several other limiting factors, they are only able to process less than 10% of the requests that it receives for DNA testing.

Close your eyes for a moment. And imagine that you are in the suburbs of any affluent U.S. city. And imagine that authorities discover the tragic accidental deaths of 10 innocent people. Ten innocent American people. The outcry would be instant and overwhelming, and make the headlines of every newspaper in the country. Now imagine 100 TIMES that many victims...and the numbers rising annually...and most Americans are not even remotely aware of this tragedy. It has no meaning whatsoever. To most, these victims are simply nameless, faceless entities which together constitute the “brown wave” that threatens the national security of their southern border. Many even justify their lack of decency or compassion by convincing themselves that these victims “simply got what they deserved for trying to break the law”. The double standard applied to these victims, and the complete lack of adequate resources dedicated to assisting them speaks volumes. The fact that no outcry whatsoever is raised over the plight and treatment of these victims is testament to a complete lack of human decency and compassion, and an absolute American Shame.

The Humane Repatriation Center was formed and organized to respond to this ongoing American tragedy.

Copyright © 2007 The Humane Repatriation Center

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