Migration to the US: Skeletons in the Desert, Terrorists, and the Darién Gap

In recent years, thousands of migrants have died while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, and volunteers frequently discover human skeletons scattered across the desert. The United Nations reported last September that nearly 700 deaths and disappearances occurred there in the previous 12 months. Almost half of these deaths, which are likely underreported, took place in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts that run along the border. Experts believe that more than 4,000 migrants have died along the Arizona-Mexico border over the past 20 years, based solely on remains found. “It’s estimated that for every migrant’s remains discovered, three to eight migrants are not recovered,” stated Brad Jones, a political science professor at the University of California, Davis.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has identified over 250 migrants on terror watchlists attempting to enter the U.S. At least 99 of them were allowed into the United States from 36 countries, including Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Panamanian border guards have apprehended 15 individuals who were allegedly operating a smuggling ring that transported Chinese migrants across the Darién Gap, a perilous, jungle-covered region between Colombia and Panama that serves as a primary route for migrants heading to the U.S. border. In recent years, the Chinese have become the fourth-largest national group to use this crossing. This year, 212,000 people have crossed the Darién Gap.