This past
week I visited Southern Arizona to immerse myself in border issues. The
US-Mexican border in Arizona crosses the Sonoran Desert, which is hot and inhospitable,
but for many it is an important path to economic survival. Current immigration policies and the border
fence erected since 9/11 have made what many longtime Arizona residents told me
was a routine crossing into the US for seasonal work into a dangerous
activity. In fact, between 200-400
migrants die each year in the Tucson sector of the border while making this
journey.
