Immigration to the United States has been unavoidable for years, especially at the U.S.A./Mexico Border. Migrants travel from as far as Central America at a chance at their “American Dream.” Aspects of the journey are typically individually depicted, however, not much is known about the journey to the U.S.A. itself from migrants and what they encounter on their journey. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico at a migrant centre and then common themes were classified afterwards. The interviews were with a mixture of men and women from the nearby shelter and participants of the migrant centre. The responses from the seven participants: three females and four men were transcribed. In addition, the migrant centre’s volunteer coordinator was also interviewed to gain a perspective on the changes and shifts in immigration. New dangers were identified that showed that the border and the journey has become more dangerous including mafia fees, being left by guides to navigate via mobile phone and human right violations by government officials. This paper examines how the border has become less safe since 2008, with the support of interviews conducted with migrants in the border-town of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico.
The preliminary study found that individuals crossing illegally to the U.S.A.-Mexico border and into the U.S.A. encounter different challenges along the way and show the various dangers compared to those pre 2008. The study showed the organisations working along the border help migrants by orienting them about the dangers. The migrant learns about the realities of the border and documenting human rights violations occurs on behalf of the organisation. This paper suggests how migrants are faced with greater risks than before 2008 and examines those dangers. Migrants have for years encountered several factors at the border including being at risk of being kidnapped, forced into smuggling drugs, mafia encounters, rape and forced prostitution amongst some of the common themes. This paper seeks to discover the new dangers whilst the migrant is in transit to determine the safety of the border in the current state.
