One and a half times as many people have died on the U.S.-Mexican border since its militarization process began in 1994 than those who perished in the September 11th terrorist attacks. As the 2010 recipient of the Isabel Bagramian Summer Travel Award, I traveled to the U.S.-Mexico Border where I volunteered with various organizations focused on Immigration Aid and Rights. Working with No More Deaths in the southern Arizona desert, I provided water and medical aid along the migrant trails in an effort to decrease the death toll in the hot summer months. The award allowed me the opportunity to walk 120 miles of migrant trails and travel 1,769 of the 1,969 miles of the border while documenting and providing direct humanitarian aid in border towns.
Jessica Mattson
