Dr. Lori Baker is a forensic scientist whose job it is to identify the bodies of people who have died trying to cross the Mexico-U.S. border. What she sees day in and day out isn’t the sort of thing she likes to bring home to the dinner table. But here, she opens up to her husband about what drew her to this work — and why she won’t stop doing it.
The folks who make the undocumented journey to the U.S., largely from Mexico and Central America, do it knowing exactly how dangerous it can be. Between 1998 and 2013, more than 6,000 migrants died trying to cross into the U.S. by way of Mexico.
Why would someone risk their life — or their children’s — to leave their home and life as they know it?
There are many reasons, including poverty, political turmoil, violence, and even poor economic conditions that the U.S. has played a huge role in creating. But the immigration debate typically ignores a lot of those factors, focusing instead on the impacts on the U.S. alone, often getting it completely wrong.
So next time you spot a discussion about immigration that’s missing the bigger picture, drop some knowledge. Because it’s an important conversation, and it needs to get a whole lot smarter.
