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The conference will explore Mexican migrants' attitudes towards death, U.S. border enforcement policies and the implications for immigration policy and enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border.

By Rebecca Ruiz-McGill, University Communications
March 12, 2008

The University of Arizona will bring together experts in migration, politics and culture for a free symposium on U.S.-Mexican migration this week.

The symposium is titled “¿No Vale Nada la Vida? (La Vida No Vale Nada): Cultural and Political Intersections of Migration and Death in the U.S.-Mexico Border.” The name translates to “Is life not worth anything?” and pays homage to a well-known and respected Mexican composer, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, who sings of placing value in life, family, honor and faith since life is short and worthless without these values.

The symposium, taking place tomorrow and Friday, will explore ways in which a myriad of cultural beliefs, attitudes, folk wisdom and ideologies about life, death, work, family and quality of life compel migrants from Mexico and Central America to risk their lives crossing the desert.

“Scholars from the UA will be joined by human rights activists, folklorists, medical and forensic experts, and artists and writers who over the course of two days will explore the politics of immigration including its intersection with cultural dimensions that compel migration. We will also review the data showing the resulting harrowing death toll and what can be done to reverse it,” said Maribel Alvarez, UA assistant research professor of English and research social scientist at the UA’s Southwest Center.

Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith of the UA's Binational Migration Institute has dedicated her research to tracking the consequences of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection policies. Her research demonstrates how changes in U.S. immigration policy enforcement have resulted in a twentyfold increase in desert immigrant deaths since 1990.

“Border Patrol official policies in the 1990’s closed off traditional crossing sites and left the desert as the alternative migratory path for Mexican and Central American migrants to enter the U.S. The Border Patrol policies being enforced have resulted in a veritable humanitarian crisis in our midst,” Rubio-Goldsmith said.

The conference is sponsored by The Ford Foundation and the keynote speaker is Claudio Lomnitz, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Columbia University. Lomnitz is author of the 2005 book “Death and the Idea of Mexico,” which explores Mexico’s cultural approach to death and its development into a cornerstone of its national identity.

Participation in the conference is free, but participants must register in advance.