US-Mexico-Immigration-Incident

//**(Rayo, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; April 2005; $19.95;Hardcover)** by the Emmy Award-winning journalist and best-selling author Jorge Ramos, is a gripping narrative account of the tragic deaths of 19 immigrants in Texas as they tried to make their way across the Mexican-American border, the 54 survivors of this odyssey and the group of coyotes (human traffickers) responsible for the crime.// On May 14th, 2003, the familiar risk taken by hopeful immigrants illegally crossing the Mexican-American border into the United States took a tragic turn. At least 73 illegal immigrants bound for Houston were crammed inside a sweltering truck trailer, which was found abandoned near Victoria, Texas. In the end, nineteen people died, including a 5 year-old boy who was found embracing his father. Bodies were found, stacked, each human body slumped over the other in what was described as a “human heap of desperation.”
 * **:** THE WORST IMMIGRANT TRAGEDY IN AMERICAN HISTORY **

At the root of this grisly tragedy is 25 year-old Karla Chavez who, after months of investigation, was accused by the authorities to be the leader of the “human trafficking cell” responsible for the tragedy. Thirteen more people were also detained in Mexico and the United States. May will mark the second year anniversary of this tragic event. In a thorough narrative, Jorge Ramos dissects the events that lead so many people to enter into an agreement with the //coyotes//, hoping for work and a chance at a better life in the United States. This story is a keen reflection of the larger immigration issue which is sure to garner front page news as the Bush White House has made it a top priority in its second Administration. Should new legislation be passed? What should comprehensive immigration reform include? What is the possibility of an amnesty? What are the benefits and drawbacks of having 10 million undocumented immigrants in the US? Can the U.S. border really be sealed from terrorists? This tragedy repeats itself every 19 days. On average every single day one immigrant dies the border while one thousand cross the border illegally and stay in the United States. Jorge Ramos’ expert opinion and passion for this hot-button topic, as well as the publication of //Dying to Cross//, make both the author and the book a perfect entrée from which to address a topic which touches the lives of so many individuals. **__ Most Notorious Immigration Events Along the Mexico/U.S. Border __** **May, 2003** /Victoria, Texas 19 undocumented immigrants die after spending four hours inside a truck container; 17 are found dead, and two more die from complications in the hospital later on. **October, 2002 /** Denison, Iowa The decomposed bodies of 11 immigrants are found in a locked-up railway car. **June, 2002 /** San Diego, California Six out of 24 immigrants traveling inside a van die in a car crash after their driver, who is also believed to have been their coyote, began driving on the wrong side of the highway. **May, 2001 /** Arizona Desert 14 undocumented immigrants die in the desert to the east of Yuma, when they are abandoned by their coyotes. **December, 1999 /** New Mexico 13 of 17 immigrants traveling in a van die in an accident close to the border. **July, 1987 /** Sierra Blanca, Texas 18 Mexican immigrants die in a railway car; one person survives.