Why are migrants crossing through more dangerous desert locations?
There are many forces that dictate the location of border crossing and routes can change quickly. U.S. border policy and patrol patterns have a profound impact on these locations. Beginning in the early 1990’s, the U.S. instituted new methods for curtailing migrant crossings through urban locations along the border. The three largest initiatives are Operation Gatekeeper in California, Operation Hold-the-Line in Texas, and Operation Safeguard in Arizona. One of the results is that migrants have been forced into much more dangerous desert locations for crossing into the United States.
