The invisibilization of death: accounting for migrant deaths along the Canada-US border

Abstract

Irregular migration at the Canada-US border, along with associated dangers, has received increased attention since the implementation of the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement. Reports by non-governmental organizations highlight the lethality of irregular migration at this border. Nevertheless, not only do reports fail to provide estimates of migrant fatalities, but there are also no official data sources on deaths produced by authorities in either country. Using this silence as a starting point, we ask: How many migrants perish while crossing the Canada-US border? To what extent, if at all, are US and Canadian officials tracking border-crosser deaths in this region? What can we learn from media reporting on this issue? We addressed these questions by (1) submitting public records requests to federal authorities in Canada and the United States, and (2) conducting an exhaustive search of media coverage on migrant deaths published by Canadian and US newspapers. Records requests resulted in just one migrant fatality recorded by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Yet, media reports confirmed 40 migrant fatalities, which most likely constitute an undercount. Given the overall underwhelming attention paid to deaths at the Canada-US border, we conclude by discussing the factors contributing to the lack of visibility of this ongoing human tragedy. Considering our study’s findings, we provide the following policy recommendations:

● The federal governments of the United States and Canada should create a classification system—like the one utilized by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner in Tucson, Arizona—that local officials in jurisdictions along the Canada-US border could use to categorize decedents as suspected irregular border-crossers.

● Increased communication, collaboration, and transparency between local authorities involved in the investigation of migrant fatalities at the Canada-US border and federal immigration officials in both countries. For example, authorities should liaise with their counterparts on the other side of the border for any migrant fatality investigation. We suggest the establishment of a working group modeled on the informal Working Group on Accounting for Migrant Deaths along the US-Mexico Border.

● Address jurisdictional challenges in the Canadian context that lead to a vacuum of official accountability in tracking migrant fatalities on Canadian territory and report on migrant fatalities at the border on an annual basis. For example, our research suggests that officials at the national headquarters of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) do not have access to data about fatalities investigated by their local detachments across the country. Migrant deaths at the Canada-US border are likely investigated by a range of agencies, including RCMP and local police forces that may be administered by provincial, municipal, and Indigenous governments.

● The US Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act of 2019, which is public law, requires that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) annually report to the US Congress the number and location of migrant fatalities that occur at the U.S.-Mexico border, and that these estimates be disclosed publicly within 30 days of each reporting period, the latter of which CBP currently does not do. The Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act should be amended to include migrant fatalities at the US-Canada Border. Furthermore, CBP should adjust its public reporting of deaths at the US-Mexico border to comply with the law.