The crosses were made of cedar wood at a shelter just across the US-Mexico border by other migrants – some recently deported, others preparing for the trek north. Messages such as ‘Jesus Was a Migrant’ and ‘No More Dead’ were scribbled in Spanish on the colorful crosses, originally intended to be symbols of immigration rights, but instead have become familiar markers of tragic journeys.
“These latest deaths are news for a day or two,” said Castro, 49, an organizer for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) advocacy group. “Then they are forgotten.”
The collision between an SUV full of 25 people and a semi-truck on the outskirts of the small town of Holtville highlights the dangers of people smuggling along the border, immigration authorities said. It also points to the desperation of those fleeing poverty, unemployment and crime – even during a pandemic – for a life in a sometimes hostile country, lawyers said.
“They are our untouchables,” said Castro, 49, referring to undocumented migrants whose lives are deemed not to be counted. “We have to give them a voice.”
The majority of those 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, the retired founder of the San Diego-based nonprofit Border Angels, across the easternmost parts of the Southwest. He’s planning a wake at the Imperial Valley crash site next week.
Imperial County is not only a bustling agricultural region, but also a migrant trade hub where so many illegal border crossings have been cut through the vast and unrelenting wilderness.
“The whole border area is stained with the blood of mothers and babies, grandmothers and grandfathers, fathers and mothers, sons and brothers,” Castro complained.
‘There is not enough space’
CCTV footage showed two separate vehicles leaving the area where the gate was breached in unsuccessful human smuggling attempts.
One vehicle, a maroon Ford Expedition that typically seats up to eight people safely, was packed with 25 migrants – the backseat had been removed. The other SUV later caught fire and 19 migrants who fled the vehicle were taken into custody in nearby bushes.
Verlyn Cardona, 46, had made the trip from Guatemala with her 23-year-old daughter Yesenia, who died next to her in the crash.
Cardona recalled walking to the border with other migrants for nearly an hour. An SUV was waiting for them. She doesn’t believe so many people were meant to pile in the back, Cardona told CNN en Español.
“People ran in and climbed on top of others,” she said from a hospital. The door closed. We said, ‘There is not enough space. Open the door. The truck was moving. ‘
A dozen people died on the spot
The police received a call about the crash at 6.15 am. The big rig with two empty trailers headed north on 115 State Road. The 1997 expedition headed west on Norrish Road in the Holtville area – about 100 miles east of San Diego, according to California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Omar Watson.
Peterbilt’s half truck from 2011 was traveling at an unknown speed as it pulled out of the SUV. It’s not clear if the SUV pulled up, but it entered the intersection for the rig, Watson said.
Some occupants were thrown from the SUV. Others were found dead inside, according to Watson. A dozen people died on the spot – including the driver – and another person died in a hospital. Nine others, including two minors, were still in hospitals on Thursday.
Cardona remembered the crushing weight of others on top of her in the SUV. Then she opened her eyes as she lay on the tarmac.
“I woke up and we were all over the road,” she said. Her head and face hurt. A person near her begged for help. Her daughter was resting against her legs.
“She was already dead,” said Cardona. I checked her, turned her around. I spoke to her, touched her. She had no pulse. Her lips were purplish. I didn’t see any bruises on her face. ‘
‘You die. Whether you fight for your dream ‘
Cardona said she left the town of Chiquimulilla near Guatemala’s Pacific coast with her daughter after the young college student and aspiring lawyer received death threats from a local gang.
“I wanted … to protect her,” Cardona said. “She was killed on the way.”
Cardona’s brother, Rudy Dominguez, who was also on the run from gang violence when he immigrated to the US 16 years ago, said the pandemic, unemployment and crime had devastated Chiquimulilla.
“You have two choices: you die in Guatemala or you fight for your dream and come here and stay here … and have a better life with your family,” he said.
The SUV passengers ranged in age from 15 to 53, authorities said. They came from Mexico and Guatemala.
At least 10 of the 13 killed in the crash were Mexican citizens, according to consular officials.
The SUV driver was from the border town of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California.
On the morning of the collision, authorities responded to a call from a red Chevrolet Suburban shrouded in flames near the intersection of Interstate 8 and State Route 115, where 19 people were found in the undergrowth. The Border Patrol said they too entered the country through the hole in the border fence.
It is not known what caused the semi-truck to enter 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 agents have never attempted to stop or chase an SUV.
The highway patrol and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash, while CBP is leading the human trafficking investigation.
“Human traffickers have proven time and again that they have little respect for human life,” said Gregory Bovino, El Centro sector head, in a statement. “Those who may consider crossing the border illegally should consider for a moment the dangers that all too often end in tragedy; tragedies that our Border Patrol Agents and first responders are unfortunately very familiar with. “
Hundreds of unidentified remains have been found
The pandemic has taken its toll in Latin America, where Covid-19 cases and deaths have skyrocketed and economies one day expected to grow have been decimated.
In a holdover from the Trump administration, people illegally crossing the US-Mexico border can be quickly evicted from the country with little consequence under a public health order enacted last year. That has resulted in single adults attempting to cross the road multiple times. And proponents said the policy is forcing some migrants to evade authorities at all costs.
Most of the remains – men, women and children, many from Mexico and Central America – were likely people who died from dehydration or exposure to intense heat or freezing temperatures, the CBP said. Some starved to death 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 barrels for dehydrated migrants. ‘When you go to the canal, you see a bunch of homemade floatation devices. It’s such a violent gamble, and people are consistently willing to do it. ‘
Castro, the immigrant rights activist, said he was rushing out of the border town Calexico came to the crash scene on Tuesday with a box of crosses after seeing a Facebook post.
“A tanker truck stopped that night and started spraying water on the road,” he said. For a moment it felt like the highway was covered in blood. I turned around and put down more crosses. ‘
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and CNN en Español’s Jaqueline Hurtado and Gregg Canes contributed to this report.