Subscribe to our newsletter. The report maintains that while the 2,100-mile border is more daunting and dangerous, the additional enforcement has done little to actually stop the flow of illegal immigration. After all, they maintain, illegal immigration does not warrant the death penalty. Most illegals die because of dangerous conditions or altercations with enforcement. Steering clear of highly enforced areas means that immigrants are braving more dangerous, isolated terrain.
Advocates feel that increasing opportunities for legal immigration is the way to go.
Opponents contend that immigration is already excessive and that our country faces massive overcrowding if we don't make every effort to control it. But no one wants anyone to die, and that is exactly what is happening. According to the Mexican government, the number rose on both sides of the border, with some 122 deaths on their side in the first year of the new century. The rising death rates are coupled with decreasing arrest rates, and estimates that point to the steady inflow of undocumented aliens from Mexican. Interestingly, the Center's findings serve as a prelude to the meeting between President George W. Bush and Mexico's president Vicente Fox.