Concern has been expressed regarding the U.S.-Mexico border wall in light of the escalating number of injuries suffered by migrants who fall from it. Eleven people were injured on Saturday when they tumbled onto the San Diego side of the border wall separating the United States and Mexico.
A total of ten individuals, from as young as 18 to the mid-40s, were taken to the hospital due to a range of injuries. A fractured leg was the most severe. A man fell from the top of the fence near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
Mainly as a result of accidents, the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent illicit border crossings have caused a significant increase in injuries and fatalities. Higher walls result in a more substantial number of migrant injuries, according to UC Berkeley emeritus professor Michael Dear, because they fail to impede determined migrants from locating routes around, beneath, over, and through fences.
Peter Andreas, a political science professor at Brown University, further observes that falls from the border wall have increased injuries.
A novel anti-climbing mechanism has been integrated into the Friendship Park border wall, which spans the state lines of San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico. Compared to the barbed wire observed in other frontier regions, the wall’s apparent lack of danger could be considered deceptive. This modification to border barriers will likely influence how individuals attempt to circumvent them.
Last month, UC San Diego Health saw 455 injured people who attempted to sneak across the border. According to CBS 8, Alexander Tenorio, a resident neurosurgeon at UCSD specializing in the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries, the hospital has witnessed a tenfold increase in the number of migrants presenting with injuries since the border wall was elevated in 2019.
The executive director of the California Immigrant Policy Center, Masih Fouladi, said that the increase in injuries is a direct consequence of a callous immigration policy. Immigration rights organizations raised concerns regarding the potential hazards associated with constructing more substantial border barriers, as advocated by the Trump administration.
Notwithstanding these apprehensions, some individuals maintain the border wall’s viability because it safeguards American citizens and prevents unauthorized border incursions. Kate Monroe encourages others to join her in fixing damaged barriers along the California-Mexico border alongside a group of veterans.
