Discussion
This section briefly discusses some of the regression results of the analysis
sample. All results are discussed in terms of odds ratios between exposure & homicide,
motor vehicle accident & homicide, or motor vehicle accident & exposure. Perhaps the
most compelling results are related to the different geographical regions from where
perished UBCs hailed.
Many of the results seem intuitive, while other results do not. Given limited
existing quantitative research on the unauthorized migration process, some of the possible
explanations offered are based on speculation. Results from this study may serve as
possible points of departure for future studies on the unauthorized migration process.
While the results are not generalizable to all unauthorized border crossers in the Arizona-
Sonora border region, but rather to UBC bodies that have been recovered in the area, the
results could also be used for the creation of educational campaigns in communities that
may be at proportionally higher risk of dying a specific way during unauthorized
migration.
Exposure vs. Homicide
UBC exposure deaths tend to occur in remote areas as well as during the summer
months. Regression results suggest that when controlling for all other covariates, UBC
bodies recovered from the Tohono O’odham Nation are 3.3 times more likely to have
died of exposure than homicide when compared to bodies that were recovered in other
areas. Similarly, when controlling for all other covariates, UBC bodies recovered during
the summer months are 21.5 times more likely to have died of exposure than homicide
that bodies recovered during other times of the year. These finding seems rather
intuitive; the remoteness of the Nation as well as the consistently higher temperatures
during the summer months put crossers at higher risk of succumbing to the elements.
Results relating to UBCs’ sending regions are much more compelling and perhaps
less intuitive. For example, when controlling for all other covariates, recovered UBC
bodies that were from the northern part of México are 36.7 times more likely to die of
homicide than exposure when compared to migrants from the central region of México
whose bodies were recovered. One possible explanation for this disparity is that
individuals from the northern part of México are more likely to be involved in activities
13
Convention