Death on the Border: Father of five dies in Arizona desert after being deported

This unfortunately is an everyday story in the U.S./Mexico border region and a direct consequence of heightened border enforcement that began in earnest with Operation Gatekeeper south of San Diego in the 1990s. A Southern California man died along the U.S. border with Mexico last month trying to return to his family after being deported. The body of Alfonso Martinez Sanchez, 39, was found on the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation, which stretches along the Arizona border and is a frequent route for thousands of migrants. It is part of the Sonoran desert where temperatures can often soar to more than 100 degrees. Martinez was trying to return to his wife and five U.S.-born children, ages 5 to 18.

KJ