Sanjeeb Sapkota ^1*, Harold W. Kohl III ¹, Julie Gilchrist ¹, Jay McAuliffe ¹, Bruce Parks ², Bob England ³, Tim Flood ³, C. Mack Sewell ⁴, Dennis Perrotta ⁵, Miguel Escobedo ⁶, Corinne E. Stern ⁷, David Zane ⁵, Kurt B. Nolte ⁸

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
² Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, Forensic Science Center
³ Arizona Dept of Health Services
⁴ New Mexico Department of Health
⁵ Texas Department of State Health Services
⁶ Region 9 & 10 of Texas Department of State Health Services
⁷ Office of the Medical Examiner and Forensic Laboratory, El Paso
⁸ Office of the Medical Investigator, New Mexico

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: auu6{at}cdc.gov.

	Abstract

Objectives. We examined the major causes of and risk factors for death among migrants who died while making unauthorized border crossings into the United States from Mexico.

Methods. Decedents were included in the study if (1) their remains were found between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003, in any US county along the 650-mi (1040-km) section of the US-Mexico border from Yuma, Ariz, to El Paso, Tex; (2) their immigration status was unauthorized; and (3) they were believed to have died during transit from Mexico to the United States. Characteristics of the decedents and causes of and risk factors for their deaths were examined.

Results. Among the 409 decedents meeting our inclusion criteria, environmental heat exposure (n=250; 61.1%) was the leading cause of death, followed by vehicle crashes (n=33; 8.1%) and drownings (n=24; 5.9%). Male decedents (n=298; 72.8%) outnumbered female decedents (n=105; 25.6%) nearly 3 to 1. More than half of the decedents were known to be Mexican nationals (n=235; 57.5%) and were aged 20 to 39 years (n=213; 52.0%); the nationality of 148 (36.2%) decedents was undetermined.

Conclusions. Deaths among migrants making unauthorized US-Mexico border crossings are due to largely preventable causes. Prevention strategies should target young Mexican men, and focus on preventing them from conceiving plans to cross the border, discouraging them from using dangerous routes as crossing points, and providing search-and-rescue teams to locate lost or injured migrant crossers.

Key Words: Epidemiology, Immigration, Injury/Emergency Care/Violence, Prevention, Mortality