"They Made Me Run Naked through the Desert:" Latina Experiences in Human Smuggling

Background and Purpose: Efforts since 1994 to deter unauthorized immigration from Mexico to the United Sates has rendered crossing the border more perilous as immigrants must navigate increasingly hostile terrain to avoid arrest. As a result, many immigrants rely on human smugglers (coyotes) to make this journey – a trip, as is shown through this study’s findings, to be particularly perilous for women. Though sociologists and geographers have developed scholarship focusing on human smuggling as a product of globalization and labor displacement, the lived experiences of smuggling survivors remain unexamined.

Objectives: This study sought to understand through narratives how Latinas make meaning of their experiences during immigration, and to understand how they navigate sexual assault and gun violence as they travel world’s most dangerous migration corridor.

Methods: A purposive sample of Latina immigrants (n=12) was identified via referrals from a violence prevention support group, and a university clinic serving uninsured clients. Only women who had support via the group or clinic were interviewed to ensure they had adequate supports if the recall of events proved too stressful. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim in Spanish before being translated into English by native-born Spanish speakers. Two researchers then coded raw data separately. Raw codes allowed researchers to stay close to the data. After the initial coding, researchers conferred to compare emergent domains. In a second step to ensure domains were true to the raw data, researchers counted raw codes in each domain to ensure that the data presented represent women’s statements.

 

Results: Despite repeated arrests, violence and deportations, women showed resilience, inevitably crossing the border because they believed the U.S. offered hope for the future. Five domains emerged from narratives: 1. Preparation for a journey they knew could bring rape and armed robbery; 2. Experiences of violence, including rape (n=5), extortion (n=3); kidnapping (n=3), robbery at gun/knife point (n=2), assault (n=2), and witnessing murder (n=2). 3. Arrests and/or deportation, 4. The means used to cross the border, and 5. How they understand these experiences. “The worst is that they raped me in front of the other people but no one dared to defend me because they were scared they would be left in the desert or that they would be killed or raped as well.” Women reported trauma symptoms but several found meaning nonetheless: One pointed with pride to her baby born in captivity; another protested for immigration rights in Washington.

 

Implications: Though this study does not break new methodological barriers, it does illuminate a human rights crisis overdue for exploration in social work scholarship. Findings here suggest the need for future research to determine how many women in immigrant communities may need specialized supports to recover from violence, as well as to test the efficacy of culturally competent treatment services for this population. Women who arrive after suffering this journey have few resources, as agencies are challenged by this population’s ineligibility for Medicaid and other federal programs.