Migrants desperate to seek asylum in the U.S. are increasingly scaling the border wall due to limited access through ports of entry. KPBS health reporter Heidi de Marco says the life-threatening injuries sustained by some migrants are prompting advocates to declare it a public health crisis.Rios said he’s seen countless injuries since the barrier wall between the U.S. and Mexico was raised from 18 feet to 30 feet in 2019. He says migrants also attempt to use makeshift ladders to climb over.
“Some of those injuries might be cuts or lacerations because of the concertina wire. Their injuries are bruised parts of their bodies because they have struck that part of their body against a wall or broken limbs because they have fallen from the border wall,” he said.on severe injuries at the U.S.-Mexico border wall in southern San Diego. They showed a five-fold increase, from 42 cases in 2019 to 440 cases in 2022.
“It is continuing to trend upward. You know, it's still quite a significant increase,” said Joseph Ciacci, a neurosurgeon at UC San Diego Health.“It is a crisis. There are limited resources. There are limited hospital beds, there are limited providers, there are limited funds,” he said.“Typically, we see a reduction in the number of people during the summer months because it's so hot,” he said.
“Last week, a 46-year-old female fell from the border wall trying to cross through the Otay Mountain wilderness. She sustained serious injuries during the fall and was unable to move. Luckily, our agents were able to respond to her location and get her the help she critically needed,” said border patrol agent Jeffrey Stalnaker at a recent press conference.medical calls from the border area west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
“Greater numbers of people are arriving with life altering injuries that we should really be considering the construction of border walls as a public health crisis,” he said.Heidi de Marco is an award-winning photojournalist and health reporter who has focused her work on producing multimedia stories that help humanize the complex health and humanitarian issues impacting marginalized and vulnerable communities in the United States and abroad.