Migrant Trail Walk In Tucson Honors Border Deaths With 75-Mile Desert Trek

TUCSON, AZ —Before sunrise Monday, dozens of Migrant Trail Walk participants gathered at South Side Presbyterian Church, preparing for a 75-mile trek through the desert heat.

Dozens of walkers from across the United States set out this week on the 23rd annual Migrant Trail Walk, a 75-mile journey from the Sasabe border crossing to Tucson that retraces routes taken by migrants through the Sonoran Desert.

The group began walking Monday and is expected to finish Sunday at Kennedy Park.

The walk is both remembrance and protest. Since border deterrence policies began in the 1990s, more than 8,000 people — including children — are known to have died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

In Arizona alone, the remains of 4,376 people have been recovered. The International Organization for Migration reports 131 migrants have already been reported missing this year.

"In 2001, the remains of 79 people were recovered from the Arizona borderlands," said Jamie Wilson, who has participated in the walk for more than a decade. "By 2005, that number jumped to over 200. And since then, nearly 20 years later, the militarized border is as deadly as ever. In just the past year, the number of remains brought to the Pima County Medical Examiner's office was 154."

The walk began in May 2004 alongside the No Más Muertes/No More Deaths movement. Over the years, participants ranging in age from 7 to 80 have taken part, traveling from across the United States, Europe and Latin America.

In recent years, organizers say turnout has typically ranged between 45 and 55 walkers, with a cap of 60.

Organizers describe the walk as both a spiritual and political act.

"We bear witness to the tragedy of death and of the inhumanity in our midst," the group writes, adding that participants walk "in defiance of the borders that attempt to divide us, committed to working together for the human dignity of all peoples."

The Migrant Trail is a free, nonviolent, family-friendly event open to the community. Participants are scheduled to conclude the walk Sunday at Kennedy Park.

Community members are invited to join the final 6.7 miles of the 75-mile journey or attend the closing gathering at 11 a.m. at Kennedy Park, Ramada #33.

The event will include a brief press conference, a foot washing ceremony, speakers and food as the weeklong walk comes to an end.