Today in this day and age there seems to be a flood of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. Why? Because its supposed to be a better place. However, since the U.S. has cracked down on immigration, and improved border security, more and more people are trying to cross the border in a very dangerous way. Crossing the Sonoran Desert. Because of this, the U.S. and Mexico have had signs and commercials made to try to dissuade people who want to cross. Unfortunately it still doesn’t work. More than one person died per day in the last year for this reason. Sixty-seven people died in one summer month alone. These people are taking it upon themselves to cross the border illegally. In doing so they assume responsibility for themselves while taking the risk of crossing the Sonoran desert. They are responsible for their actions.Illegal immigrants have full control as individuals and could choose to cross the border legally but instead choose the dangerous option because it provides a faster solution versus the long way around. Crossing the border illegally certainly is faster and provides a solution but in doing so people crossing the desert can experience severe dehydration, heatstroke, personal injury and death in such conditions. “In 2005 more than 400 migrants died, mostly from heat-related causes. More than half of the bodies were found in the deserts of southern Arizona.”1 They could also become victims of fraud through coyotes. Those that are apprehended by the Border Patrol are sent back to Mexico. Others who do not prepare well are left stranded with no water and no shelter. Its these conditions that can kill and they could have been prevented by the migrant workers themselves. “The crossing here (the desert south of Tuscan), over a simple barbed-wire fence, is followed by a walk of two or three days, up to 50 miles on ancient trails through a desert wilderness, to reach the nearest road...Most people start off with no more than two gallons of water, weighing almost 17 pounds, in plastic jugs. In recent days, with daytime temperatures over 100 degrees in the desert, a person needed a gallon of water just to survive walking five miles.”2 Those who survive the intense heat often find themselves in the hands of Border Patrol. Nearly 300,000 people were caught trying to enter the United States through the desert border in about a seven month period (October 1, 2003 to May 23, 2004).3 In an article written by Timothy Egan in 2004, a Border Patrol agent named Leon Stroud said this. “It's like catch-and-release fishing,''...''One week, I arrested the same guy three times. If I dwell on it, it can be frustrating.''4 These people try to enter the country again and again and the U.S. can only try to keep them out.
People are ultimately responsible for their actions and just because you happen to be an illegal immigrant people are supposed to be sympathetic? Other people have problems in our own country. Illegal immigrants make the decision to come over and they should consider this very carefully. There may be factors leading up to trying to cross but in the end, when it all boils down no one is really at fault except for the illegal immigrant who chose that path and made that decision.
1 Zhang, Sheldon. Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings: All Roads Lead to America. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 2007. Print.
2 Egan, Timothy. "Border Desert Proves Deadly For Mexicans." PBS. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. <http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico/border.html>.
3 Egan, Timothy. "Border Desert Proves Deadly For Mexicans." PBS. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. <http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico/border.html>.
4 Egan, Timothy. "Border Desert Proves Deadly For Mexicans." PBS. Web. 26 Oct. 2009. <http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico/border.html>.
