Citation

Lussier A, Lindholm P. J. Am. Med. Assoc. JAMA 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/jama.2024.1275

PMID

38451518

Abstract

In December 2019, the US finished its initiative to increase the height of the US-Mexico border wall from 5 to 9 m (17-30 ft) along 640 km (400 miles) of southern borderlands, in accordance with executive order 13767.1,2 This height change has been associated with an increased rate of severe injuries seen by trauma surgery departments in San Diego, California.2-5 We hypothesized that this increase in injury risk may have encouraged more migrants to pursue aquatic and maritime migration routes via the Pacific Ocean and other nearby bodies of water, swimming, floating, or traveling across the international border in boats or other personal watercraft, resulting in an increased incidence of drowning deaths in the region. In this study, we assessed migratory drowning deaths along the southwest border of the US before and after the increase in border wall height.

Language: en