Exploring the Struggles of Undocumented Migrants in De Leon's Work

Book Report: Land of the Open Graves Naomi Aviles ANTH 4840 Historical Archaeology Dr. J Yelton March 22 nd , 2022

Introduction "Land of the Open Graves," written by Jason De Leon, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan, and Director of the Undocumented Migrants Project, is the controversial documentation of De Leon's research amongst "living and dying on the migrant trail." De Leon's writings reveal the actual sufferings of the undocumented migrants journey into the United States and the political strategies being utilized through "Prevention through Deterrence" to subject these migrants to suffering and heart-wrenching deaths throughout their journey. De Leon respectfully and brutally shares the stories of undocumented migrants and the trials and tribulations they have both lived and died to tell. Throughout this report, I will identify and detail the struggles faced by undocumented migrants and the controversial debate of political strategies of "Prevention through Deterrence" throughout their journey to freedom, as detailed by Jason De Leon. Second, I will highlight key points that tie into contemporary archaeology, archaeological fieldwork, and anthropological thinking throughout the book. Finally, I will evaluate the book from my perspective, sharing my evaluation of De Leon's writings and my opinion on how the book was written. Systematic Suffering and the Migrant Trail The stories and reasonings behind undocumented migrants trekking their subjective trail to freedom throughout the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona are never quite the same, although De Leon identifies similarities between them all -- the landscape, the environment, and the scavengers who ravage the remains of unsuccessful migrating individuals. Dubbed as "the hybrid collectif," these factors work in coalition to wear, and quite literally tear down, the bodies of those who are subjected to it, killing a documented 1,813, as reported by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (De Leon, 2015, p. 67).

The purpose of the hybrid collectif identification by De Leon is not to identify the struggles that are subjected unto all those traveling through the Sonoran Desert but to identify what is debatably and strategically used to prevent undocumented migrants from traveling into the United States. These identified aspects are all used as catalysts used within enforcement policies, such as Prevention Through Deterrence, working together to prevent undocumented migrants from successfully reaching the freedom they seek, as well as "cleaning up the mess" of those who lose their lives as a result of these aspects (De Leon, 2015, p. 77;83). Prevention Through Deterrence's federal border enforcement policy strategically places migrants into these border crossings paths within the Sonoran Desert while bearing the knowledge of how aggressive and deadly the migrant trail truly is. As a result, the terrain has become border patrol's third-party killer of migrants. The effectiveness of this tactic is discreetly acknowledged at great lengths but never verbally spoken; the terrain is used as a personified killing border wall between Mexico and America. As acknowledged within page 163 of "Land of the Open Graves," the equipment used by la migra (border patrol) stands no chance against the strong-willed individuals who choose to cross into America as undocumented immigrants, but as best stated by an unnamed deportee, "unfortunately, sometimes your body cannot keep up with your faith." – this is what Prevention Through Deterrence thrives on. Contemporary Archaeology, Fieldwork, and Anthropological Ideas As an ethnographer, De Leon does a beautiful job of bringing a culturally relevant perspective into his archaeological assessment of materials left behind on the migrant trail. "I have shown that an archaeology of undocumented migration can provide new insights into border crossings and improve our understanding of the different types of engagements people

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have with the desert hybrid collectif and the material traces of these interactions" (De Leon, 2015, p. 197). De Leon separates the terrains of the migrant trail into various categories, dubbing specific locations as campsites, rest sites, pick-up sites, religious shrines, the route , and the border staging areas – all identified and classified through the examination and contextual placement of materials left behind (De Leon, 2015, p. 176). De Leon places a value I had not previously considered on these categorized sites, and material remains left behind. The protection and management of essential human activity documentation and the relationship between the remaining material provide a massive amount of contemporary knowledge – knowledge of current immigration, race-valued judgments, and what De Leon calls "contemporary archaeological heritage. Drawing from ethnography and archaeology, and forensic anthropology, De Leon also assesses the decomposition, deterioration, and dispersal of fallen individuals upon the migrant trail. For the Undocumented Migrants Project, concerning those who have fallen within the Sonoran Desert, De Leon felt it was necessary to document the process of decomposition within the Sonoran Desert and did so through the strategic placement of three relevantly clothed, deceased pigs. Throughout this study, De Leon and his team were faced with the brutal reality of a scene that is not foreign to the victims of the ruthless Sonoran Desert and the animals who inhabit it. By the third day of the experiment, the bodies of the three pigs had succumbed to such aggressive scavenging that it was described as a "pathetic shell of what it used to be," skeletal remains and materials dispersed as far as 50 meters from the initial site of placement. Personal Evaluation

"Land of the Open Graves" is an appropriately aggressive reality check for those who believe the border control system is playing an innocent game within the "protection" of U.S. soil. In addition to this, it is a gut-wrenching presentation, literally and pictorially, of the necroviolence committed against the victims of the Sonoran Desert, victims of "Prevention Through Deterrence." The blanket covering the true brutalities faced by undocumented migrant individuals is quickly lifted. One of the lines within De Leon's book that resonated with me, with the primary argument of the book, and with the purpose of the Undocumented Migrant Project as a whole, is stated on pages 26 – 27: "… many Americans today have no problem putting nationality before humanity…. This disregard for the lives of undocumented people and the idea that the dead bodies should act as a form of Deterrence to future migrants are fundamental components of the U.S. Federal government's current border security strategy." De Leon places value and depth upon the politically viewed lives only as animalistic "illegals," naming the victims, photographing their realities, and their remains. De Leon forces readers to personify these individuals through the sharing of their stories, their photos, their families, and their "why" in relation to coming to America. It truly becomes difficult to digest at times; bodies – the remains – were those of a mother, a father, a son, a sister. Those who died had purpose, reason, and motivation. The victims were willing to risk their lives for the possibility of making it into America, for whatever reason they may have had. De Leon unmasks the ugly truth beautifully and heavily supports his perspective and respectably concerning the victims and their families. Conclusion

The importance of "Land of the Open Graves" will only resonate with those who are willing to undertake the burden of those who lived and died on the migrant trail. Drawing and sharing experiences from migrants through ethnographic research, supplemented with strenuous archaeological fieldwork and material assessment, Jason De Leon sheds light on how disgusting the system is and how ill-regarded undocumented individuals' lives and scarring experiences are. The true sufferings of an undocumented migrants journey into the United States lie within the political strategies utilized through "Prevention through Deterrence" to subject these migrants to bare life, suffering purposely, and heart-wrenching deaths.

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References De Leon, J., & Wells, M. (2015). Land of the open graves. University of California Press.

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