The crosses were made of cedar in a shelter across the US-Mexico border by other migrants – some recently deported, others preparing to embark on their journey north. Messages like “Jesus was a migrant” and “No more deaths” were scrawled in Spanish on the colored crosses, which were originally intended to be symbols of immigration rights, but instead, they become familiar markers of tragic travel.
“These latest deaths are news for a day or two,” said Castro, 49, an organizer for the advocacy group Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). “So they are forgotten.”
The collision between a SUV loaded with 25 people and a semi-truck outside the small town of Holtville highlights the dangers of smuggling people across the border, according to immigration authorities. It also points to the desperation of those fleeing poverty, unemployment and crime – even during a pandemic – for life in a sometimes hostile land, advocates said.
“They are our untouchables,” said Castro, 49, referring to the undocumented migrants whose lives do not count. “We have to give them a voice.”
Most of the people who have crossed the border in recent months are single adults, many of whom are from Mexico. In fact, 87% of the 71,000 migrants detained in December were single adults.
“This is ground zero for border crossings,” said Enrique Morones, retired founder of the San Diego-based non-profit organization Border Angels, on the easternmost stretches of the southwest region. He plans a vigil at the Imperial Valley crash site next week.
Imperial County is not only a busy agricultural region, but also a center for migrant trafficking, where many illegal border crossings have been interrupted by the vast and unforgiving nature.
“The entire border region is stained with the blood of mothers and babies, grandparents and grandparents, fathers and mothers, children and siblings”, lamented Castro.
‘There is not enough space’
Surveillance images showed two separate vehicles leaving the area where the fence was breached in failed attempts to smuggle people.
One vehicle, a brown Ford Expedition that normally seats up to eight people safely, was packed with 25 migrants – their rear seats removed. The other SUV later caught fire and 19 migrants who fled the vehicle were trapped in a nearby undergrowth.
Verlyn Cardona, 46, made the trip from Guatemala with her 23-year-old daughter, Yesenia, who died by her side during the accident.
Cardona remembered walking to the border with other migrants for almost an hour. An SUV was waiting for them. She does not believe that the plan was for so many people to pile up on their backs, Cardona told CNN in Spanish.
“People ran and climbed on top of others,” she said of a hospital. “The door closed. We said, ‘There is not enough space. Open the door.’ The truck was moving. “
A dozen people died at the scene
The police received a call about the accident at 6:15 am. The large platform towing two empty trailers was traveling north on State Road 115. The 1997 expedition was heading west on Norrish Road in the Holtville area – about 100 miles east of San Diego, according to the Division chief. of the California Highway Patrol, Omar Watson.
The 2011 Peterbilt semitruck was traveling at an unknown speed when it hit the SUV. It is not clear whether the SUV stopped, but entered the intersection in front of the equipment, Watson said.
Some occupants were ejected from the SUV. Others were found dead inside, according to Watson. A dozen people died at the scene – including the driver – and another person died in a hospital. Another nine, including two minors, were still in hospitals on Thursday.
Cardona remembered the crushing weight of other people on top of her in the SUV. Then she was opening her eyes while lying on the pavement.
“I woke up and we were spread out on the road,” she said. His head and face hurt. A person near her begged for help. Her daughter was lying against her legs.
“She was already dead,” said Cardona. “I checked it, turned it over. I spoke to it, touched it. She had no pulse. Her lips were purplish. I didn’t see bruises on her face.”
‘You die . . . or do you fight for your dream? ‘
Cardona said she left the city of Chiquimulilla, near the Pacific coast of Guatemala, with her daughter, after the young university student and aspiring lawyer received death threats from a local gang.
“I wanted to … protect you,” said Cardona. “On the way here, she found death.”
Cardona’s brother Rudy Dominguez, who was also fleeing gang violence when he emigrated to the United States 16 years ago, said the pandemic, unemployment and crime devastated Chiquimulilla.
“You have two options: to die in Guatemala or fight for your dream and come here and stay here … and have a better life with your family,” he said.
SUV passengers were aged between 15 and 53, officials said. They came from Mexico and Guatemala.
At least 10 of the 13 killed in the accident were Mexican citizens, according to consular officials.
The SUV driver was from the border city of Mexicali, capital of the Mexican state of Baja California.
On the morning of the collision, authorities responded to a call from a red Chevrolet Suburban engulfed in flames near the intersection of Interstate 8 and State Route 115, where 19 people were found hiding in the woods. Border Patrol said they also entered the country through the hole in the border fence.
It is not known what caused the semi-truck to crash into the driver’s side of the Expedition at the rural intersection about 10 miles north of the border with Mexico.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said the agents never tried to stop or chase any SUV.
The highway patrol and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the accident, while CBP is conducting an investigation of human trafficking.
“Human smugglers have repeatedly proven that they have little regard for human life,” CBP’s head of sector El Centro, Gregory Bovino, said in a statement. “Those who may be thinking about crossing the border illegally should stop to think about the dangers that often end in tragedy; tragedies with which our Border Patrol Agents and rescuers are, unfortunately, very familiar. “
Hundreds of unidentified remains found
The pandemic has affected Latin America, where Covid-19 cases and deaths have skyrocketed and economies that were once projected to grow have been decimated.
In a remnant of the Trump administration, people found illegally crossing the U.S. border with Mexico can be quickly expelled from the country, with little consequence due to a public health order implemented last year. This led to single adults trying to cross several times. And supporters said the policy forces some migrants to try to escape from the authorities at any cost.
Most of the remains – men, women and children, many from Mexico and Central America – were probably people who died of dehydration or exposure to intense heat or sub-zero temperatures, according to the CBP. Some died of hunger after being abandoned by smugglers.
“The first thing many people encounter when they jump over the fence is the canal,” said Nikolai Beope, a member of the Water Station group, which leaves water in plastic drums for dehydrated migrants. “If you go to the channel, you will see a lot of homemade floating devices. It is a violent bet and people are always willing to do it.”
Castro, the immigrant rights activist, said he ran from the border city of I calexico to the accident scene on Tuesday with a box of crosses after seeing a post on Facebook.
“A tanker truck stopped that night and started spraying water on the road,” he said. “For a moment, it looked like the road was covered in blood. I turned around and put on more crosses.”
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and CNN’s Jaqueline Hurtado and Gregg Canes contributed to this report.