Since December, when the U.S. Border Patrol recorded nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants entering the United States from Mexico—the highest monthly figure ever—the focus of the migration crisis has begun to shift from Texas to California and Arizona. This change is attributed to Texas’ extensive efforts to secure its border by enacting a range of measures against migrants and unauthorized entry.
Battling illegal immigration
Texas, which shares the longest border with Mexico and has been at the forefront of the migration crisis, has concentrated on border security for over three years since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the launch of the Operation Lone Star. This extremely expensive operation is paid by state’s money in absence of adequate federal help and the President Biden administration light immigration policies.
Measures implemented
Texas’ deployment of various, often controversial, strategies—such as the installation of razor wire, construction of border walls, placement of floating barriers, and the transportation of immigrants to sanctuary cities and states—has effectively reduced illegal crossings, pushing migrants to seek other entry points. Meanwhile, states like California, also significantly affected by illegal immigration, have adopted their unique measures to manage and mitigate the issue.
Unexpected problem
One such measure, first brought into life few years ago, has created an unexpected challenge for cities and regions along California’s border. In 2019, the Trump administration doubled the height of the border wall near San Diego in an effort to curb undocumented migration—a phenomenon that has surged anew following the coronavirus pandemic. Compounding the issue, a new “anti-climb” feature was added to a portion of the wall that migrants frequently attempt to scale, leading to unintended consequences.
Hospitals overwhelmed with patients
The increased wall height and the introduction of the anti-climb feature have led to a rise in the number of migrants sustaining injuries in their attempts to cross the border. Since the enhancements in 2019, there has been a steady increase in injured migrants. This surge in injuries has prompted officials in San Diego and surrounding areas to seek state assistance, as local resources, including hospitals tasked with treating injured migrants, are stretched beyond their limits.
San Diego local doctor recently confirmed the problem
“I can’t remember a week where we haven’t had an injury from a border wall incident for years and years,” Dr. Joseph Ciacci, a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health, recently said to KGTV, adding that an increasing number of the patients are women. “It’s particularly striking when you’re taking care of a severely injured patient that’s shackled to the gurney that they’re coming into the operating room on. It’s a visual that affects you.”
According to Ciacci, in 2023 the hospital dealt with 500 head injuries from migrants falling from the wall, with many requiring surgery.
The situation is unsustainable
“In the past 16 days, migrants just being dropped off at the Iris Avenue station is over 11,000. Since September that’s about 108,000 people just dropped off here in the streets in San Diego County,” San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond recently said in an interview to FOX 5 on Sunday. Then he described the current situation at the border as “unsustainable.”
The dangers of the border wall
Dr. Ciacci has expressed concerns about the significant dangers associated with the 30-foot border wall, stating that a fall from such a height is highly likely to cause serious injuries. The wall’s construction is intended to make climbing extremely difficult, posing considerable risks for those attempting to surmount it. He further explained that providing medical care for severe head trauma is a costly process, and it’s the taxpayer who ultimately bears the financial burden for these expenses.
