Land of Open Graves

Anthropologist's Approach to Studying Undocumented Migration

• The author aims to provide a more nuanced and critical perspective on undocumented migration, moving beyond the common depiction of migrants as "anonymous shadows."
• The author draws inspiration from Audrey Singer and Douglas Massey's recognition of undocumented migration as a "well-defined social process" rather than a chaotic event.

Methods and Theories Used

• The author employs a four-field anthropology approach, incorporating ethnography, archaeology, forensic science, and linguistics to enhance understanding of undocumented desert migration.
• The author adapts various methods and theories from the anthropological toolbox to better understand the social process of undocumented migration.

Challenging Conventional Notions

• The author seeks to challenge preconceived notions about what a holistic anthropology can look like and how it can be deployed in politically hostile terrain.
• The author aims to "sully the often sterile anthropological discussion" about undocumented Latino migration and its associated boundaries.

Multisited Ethnographic Approach

• The author follows people across multiple states, countries, and continents, using a multisited ethnographic approach to capture various elements of the migration process.

Critique of Existing Research

• The author critiques research that relies heavily on after-the-fact interviews and participant observation, which may not capture the complexity of undocumented migration.
• The author argues that such approaches can produce simplistic or problematic narratives, likening them to "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.

Prevention Through Deterrence (PTD)

• The Border Patrol strategy of PTD uses the natural environment to act as an enforcer, while providing plausible deniability for the agency regarding blame for migrant victims.

Silvestre Reyes and the El Paso Sector

• In 1993, Mexican American Border Patrol agent Silvestre Reyes was promoted to chief of the El Paso Sector amidst lawsuits and human rights violation claims against the Border Patrol.
• The major grievances included racial profiling and harassment of legal Latino residents, and the dangerous pursuit of undocumented border crossers through neighborhoods.

Operation Blockade and the Shift in Border Policing

• Reyes developed a radical new enforcement strategy, Operation Blockade, to address the complaints and fundamentally change how the border was policed.
• The operation aimed to shift migrant traffic away from the city and into rural areas where law enforcement could more easily monitor and control.

INS Strategic Plan and the Expansion of PTD

• In 1994, the INS published its Strategic Plan, which incorporated Reyes' strategy into a national program.
• The plan emphasized the use of "prevention through deterrence," increasing enforcement resources, and technology to raise the risk of apprehension.

The Use of Remote Areas and Harsh Terrain

• The PTD strategy recognized that remote areas along the border, such as the Sonoran Desert, are difficult to traverse on foot and can be used effectively by law enforcement.
• Historically, immigration authorities have utilized the desert and mountain wilderness as allies in the fight against undocumented entry.

The Effects of PTD

• The strategy made migration less visible, creating a scenario in which the policing of undocumented people occurred in areas with few witnesses.
• The operation's effects were felt along much of the US-Mexico border during the 1990s, with similar operations implemented in Southern California, Arizona, and South Texas.

The Legacy of Operation Blockade

• The approach evolved into a large-scale policy that strategically used the natural environment and became the foundation for border security in a post-9/11 world.
• The operation's logic was to place heightened security in urban areas, forcing undocumented migrants to attempt crossings in more rural areas that were easier for law enforcement to monitor.

Migrant Border Crossing

• Migrants view the fortified border as a dangerous obstacle course, but it does not deter them from attempting to cross.
• Despite knowing the risks, migrants continue to cross the border due to various factors.

Apprehension Rates

• Studies have shown that fewer than half of migrants who attempt to cross the border are apprehended, even once, by the Border Patrol.
• Apprehension rates vary from 24% to 47% depending on the community of origin.
• Of those who are caught, 92-98% eventually succeed in crossing the border on subsequent attempts.

Ineffective Border Security

• The security in place between the US and Mexico has been relatively ineffective at keeping people out.
• Politicians and federal agencies often use the fear of foreign invaders and the image of a porous border to distract from other economic and foreign policy issues and to generate funds.

Migrant Profiles

• Memo and Lucho, two migrants, are typical examples of undocumented border crossers: male, lacking formal education, having crossed the border multiple times, and being fully incorporated into the US undocumented labor force.
• Both have spent most of their lives living in the US and do not see returning to Mexico as an option.

Personal Experience

• Memo and his friend's wife attempted to cross the border but struggled and eventually got caught after 11 days.
• They were relieved to be caught and received medical attention, including electrolytes and water, from the Border Patrol.
• A Border Patrol agent advised Memo to take a break from attempting to cross the border, citing the risk of death, but Memo was determined to try again.

The Archaeology of the Contemporary

• This movement draws inspiration from William Rathje's Tucson Garbage Project, which demonstrated the contribution of archaeology to modern society.
• Researchers are applying excavation, site mapping, and other archaeological methods and theories to understand the relationship between artifacts and sociopolitical contexts.

The Archaeology of Us Who Are Alive

• This paradigm is deeply entrenched in the unpleasantness of the postmodern world, including emotional distress and trauma.
• The focus is on material traces of ongoing contested social phenomena, such as political violence, homelessness, and warfare.
• Alternative stories are offered distinct from dominant narratives often written by those in power.

Use Wear

• Identifying evidence of physical suffering, such as dehydration and bleeding blisters, experienced by crossers in the archaeological record has proved difficult.
• Use wear, a dusty archaeological concept, refers to modifications to objects that occur when people use them in various ways.
• This concept has been subdivided into two categories: wear patterns, resulting from an item's use in intended tasks, and modifications, changes made to improve an object's function or to repair damage.

Documenting Migrant Sites

• The Snake Pit site, located in Green Valley, Arizona, was documented, featuring clothes and other items neatly laid out on the ground.
• The features recorded at Snake Pit give the impression that the owners left just prior to the arrival of the researchers.

Migrant Experiences

• Lucho and Memo, two migrants, shared their experiences of crossing the border, including dehydration, vomiting, and exhaustion.
• They described the difficulties of carrying heavy loads and eventually abandoning their belongings.
• The accounts highlight the human suffering and trauma experienced during border crossings.

Erasure of the Archaeological Record

• The government's efforts to "clean up" migrant sites are directly linked to its attempts to protect other "archaeological sites."
• This perspective means that migrant material culture is viewed as trash and can be erased.
• The destruction of the archaeological record before it can be recorded is a political act that shapes the formation of the historical record for future generations.