Lost items tells the stories of migrants who perished in Arizona desert

Record ID: 1700970

  • Title: Lost items tells the stories of migrants who perished in Arizona desert
  • Date: 5th December 2022
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHILDREN’S BACKPACKS BELONGING TO MIGRANTS ON DISPLAY VIEW OF EXHIBITION SPACE WITH DISPLAY CASES DISPLAYING ITEMS FOUND IN THE ARIZONA DESERT THAT BELONGED TO MIGRANTS CROSSING FROM MEXICO INTO THE UNITED STATES CLOSE-UP OF PINK HAIRBRUSH ON DISPLAY WITH OTHER ITEMS BELONGING TO MIGRANTS ITEMS OF CLOTHING FOUND IN THE ARIZONA DESERT THAT BELONGED TO MIGRANTS YOUNG CHILD’S SHIRT ON DISPLAY CLOSE-UP OF HAT WITH THE WORD “JESUS” EMBROIDERED ON THE FRONT VARIOUS OF SHOES BELONGING TO MIGRANTS ON DISPLAY THE UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANT PROJECT FOUNDER AND CURATOR JASON DE LEON LOOKING AT A WALL OF MISSING PERSONS FLYERS DISPLAYED ON GALLERY WALL VARIOUS OF MISSING PERSONS FLYERS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) JASON DE LEON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE UNDOCUMENTED MIGRATION PROJECT AND THE CALIBRI CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, SAYING: “I think people tend to have a strong emotional reaction to this exhibition, whether that's sadness or anger or disbelief. I think it's a full range of emotions, which is important. I think we need to have all of those things because this is the humanitarian crisis that's been happening for decades that no one is ever talking about. It remains well hidden because it's happening in the desert out in the middle of nowhere. And so, you know, for us, it's important for people to come here and engage with this in a meaningful way.”
  • Embargoed: 19th December 2022 17:21
  • Keywords: Los Angeles Migrants immigration
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/BUENOS AIRES NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA
  • City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/BUENOS AIRES NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,North America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001390001122022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of migrants have died making the treacherous journey across the Sonora desert, as they try to reach the United States in search of a better life.
    “Hostile Terrain ’94 – Undocumented Migration Project,” a new exhibition showing in Los Angeles, tells the stories of these people through personal items and other belongings found abandoned in the desert by migrants as they made their way to the United States.
    Featuring items such as children's clothing and backpacks to shoes and missing person flyers, the exhibition can at times be overwhelming for visitors, explained Jason De Leon, a UCLA anthropologist and Executive Director of the Undocumented Migration Project and the Colibri Center for Human Rights.
    “I think people tend to have a strong emotional reaction to this exhibition, whether that's sadness or anger or disbelief. I think it's a full range of emotions, which is important. I think we need to have all of those things because this is the humanitarian crisis that's been happening for decades that no one is ever talking about. It remains well hidden because it's happening in the desert out in the middle of nowhere. And so, you know, for us, it's important for people to come here and engage with this in a meaningful way,” said De Leon, who has been going into the Sonora desert since 2009 to collect and document items left behind by migrants, many of whom never made it to the United States.
    “Hostile Terrain ’94,” in the exhibition’s tile, refers to a 1994 U.S. Border Patrol policy, which De Leon said has caused migrant deaths in the Arizona desert to spike.
    “The exact number is 3,954 sets of remains that have been recovered by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner. The bulk of those deaths start to happen towards the late nineties when a Border Patrol policy known as Prevention Through Deterrence goes into place… That policy goes into place and it tries to shift migration away from urban zones. So, away from San Diego, away from El Paso, and through different infrastructure, push people towards the Sonora desert of Arizona,” explained De Leon.
    “The idea was that if people have to walk 65 miles across this harsh desert, they will be deterred because it's such an extreme experience. And if enough people die, then word of mouth will spread and people will stop coming. But what ended up happening was people were now funneled through the Arizona desert and you have this like an enormous leap in the number of folks. You go from a couple of dozen deaths in a year to now, hundreds of deaths in any given year. But all of this is linked up to this policy of Prevention Through Deterrence, which is still the primary security paradigm that's in place right now. That's how we police the US-Mexico border right now is through this policy,” added De Leon.
    U.S. authorities made more than 2.2 million migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border in the fiscal year 2022, higher than any year on record.
    The number of migrant arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border has soared to record highs under Biden, a Democrat who took office in 2021, fueling attacks by Republicans who say his policies are too lenient. Biden officials have said they aim to create a more orderly and humane immigration system, but have struggled to handle the operational and political challenges that have accompanied the high level of crossings.
    “Hostile Terrain ’94 – Undocumented Migration Project,” is showing at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown Los Angeles until July 9, 2023.
    (Production: Sandra Stojanovic, Jane Ross, Omar Younis)
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