The People’s Tribune and our sister publication El Tribuno del Pueblo extend their deepest condolences to the families of the 53 migrants who died in the sweltering heat in a trailer truck outside of San Antonio, Texas, on June 27. Sixty-seven people were abandoned by smugglers in the trailer with no air conditioning or water, and the temperature in the trailer reached 150 degrees, according to official reports. Several survivors suffered injuries such as brain damage and internal bleeding.
This was the deadliest such incident in US history. The 53 who died—40 males and 13 women—had their dreams to work, to go to school, to build homes for their mothers, shattered. Up to now we know that among the dead were two brothers, two sisters, a young couple in their twenties, and two cousins and best friends 13 years old. The migrants came from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.
While mothers, fathers and families cry over their dead, politicians point fingers at each other—some blame their opponents for not supporting stronger immigration laws and more money to police the border, while others demand more humane immigration policies. In the end they will use this as a photo opp, but nothing changes. Nothing, that is, except border enforcement spending: ICE will be allocated $8.4 billion for fiscal year 2023, $138.1 million above fiscal year 2022.
In terms of true immigration reform, we get nothing. These deaths and the deaths of the thousands of other migrants who have perished trying to cross the border over the years are the result of an unfair immigration system that denies the humanity of migrants and puts the focus on money for fences, drones and arms in the name of “securing the national borders.”
Among border activists it is well known that the summer months are the death months for migrants. “Human beings are dying in rivers, canals, deserts, mountains, and now even in unsafe trailers meant for cargo transportation. Migrants, refugees, and entire families are using more distant and dangerous routes to come to the United States,” says Fernando García, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights. “These deaths are the result of containment actions, anti-immigrant repression and summary deportations that have not changed under the current administration despite the promises of a new turn to anti-immigrant policies promoted and materialized by previous federal governments.”
The 53 dead are the latest additions to a growing toll. Last year, at least 650 people died attempting to cross the US-Mexico border, the highest number since an international agency began tracking those statistics in 2014. Up to now about 290 migrants have died so far this year.
But there is more to say and many questions to answer. How long will the shock of this most recent tragedy last? How long will the sadness we feel in our hearts last? When will shock, sadness and anger turn to action?
While we put the responsibility for these deaths on the Biden administration and former administrations for their discriminatory and racist immigration policies, we, the people of this country also need to take responsibility. As Carlos Marentes of the Border Agricultural Workers Project said, “What we must ask ourselves in the midst of widespread consternation is how to prevent it. Pope Francis gave us a clue when he spoke about the meaning of the word solidarity. He said [in October 2014], ’Solidarity…is thinking and acting in terms of community, of everyone’s life….’”
“We must request an investigation at the international level by the Office of Human Rights of the United Nations. We must join the call to protest this recent atrocity,” says Jose Torres, a human rights activist from Weslaco, Texas.
Also, as we take to the polls in the coming months we must vote for candidates that commit themselves to creating an immigration system that is humane and non-racist. This will be solidarity in practice.
El Tribuno del Pueblo and the People’s Tribune promise to continue exposing the inhumanity of this system, and most importantly to keep providing a platform for those activists and organizations that are waging the fight for a society where no human being is illegal.
