tagged w/ Life and Death on the Border
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Nearly all of us are descended from immigrants, of course. But in recent years, as living standards have stagnated or declined for all but the wealthiest and most fortunate Americans, the political pressure to choke off illegal migration has exploded. Billions of dollars are spent on higher, stronger fences, sophisticated sensing technology and more border patrol agents.
Tighter security has pushed would-be migrants to try more and more remote and treacherous areas along the nearly 2,000-mile US/Mexico border. Fewer get through. More die on the way. Yet hundreds of thousands try it every year. This year, officials say, more people have died in the desert on American soil than ever before.
To understand what crossers go through for a shot at the American dream, I went to the small Mexican town of Altar, a hotbed of human smuggling, where migrants pay coyotes—smugglers—to take them across. On assignment for Current TV’s documentary series, Vanguard, I found a coyote willing to allow me to accompany him across the border and into southern Arizona desert.
The trip frequently takes three or four days to reach a road north of the border. The coyotes restrict each traveler to two gallons of water, which often isn’t enough to survive. Authorities have found the remains of more than 250 people already this year, and they estimate that for every body they discover many more lie unfound under the brutal southern sun.Nearly all of us are descended from immigrants, of course. But in recent years, as... more
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Just before crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S., Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel and his producer, John Carlos Frey, relay the story behind Santo Toribio Romo, a famous Catholic martyr who is said to guide traveling migrants towards a source of water.
In "Life And Death On The Border," Putzel travels to the U.S.-Mexico border to investigate one of the most contentious issues in America today: immigration. Meeting with "coyotes," the hired smugglers who offer to take immigrants across the border for a fee, Putzel learns the methods used to evade border patrol and the dangers they face on the journey. Arrest and deportation are inherent risks, but the lack of water and scorching temperatures of the desert crossing are far more deadly. Those who do make it safely across the border face tightening immigration laws and an increasingly hostile public. Putzel ultimately crosses the border with a migrant and coyote.
"Life And Death On The Border" premieres on Monday, November 15 at 9/8c on Current TV.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Mondays at 9/8c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.Just before crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S., Vanguard correspondent... more
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In August 2010, Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel sought to document the illegal crossing of migrants from Mexico into the U.S. His safety during the arduous, three-day desert trek was Current TV's main priority. Using satellite phones, GPS trackers and two-way radios, a team of producers on the ground in Arizona, as well as Christof's colleagues back at Vanguard's offices in Los Angeles, were able to track his progress every step of the way.
In "Life And Death On The Border," Putzel travels to the U.S.-Mexico border to investigate one of the most contentious issues in America today: immigration. Meeting with "coyotes," the hired smugglers who offer to take immigrants across the border for a fee, Putzel learns the methods used to evade border patrol and the dangers they face on the journey. Arrest and deportation are inherent risks, but the lack of water and scorching temperatures of the desert crossing are far more deadly. Those who do make it safely across the border face tightening immigration laws and an increasingly hostile public. Putzel ultimately crosses the border with a migrant and coyote.
"Life And Death On The Border" premieres on Monday, November 15 at 9/8c on Current TV.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Mondays at 9/8c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.In August 2010, Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel sought to document the illegal... more
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In "Life And Death On The Border," Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel travels to the U.S./Mexico border to investigate one of the most contentious issues in America today: immigration. Meeting with "coyotes," the hired smugglers who offer to take immigrants across the border for a fee, Putzel learns the methods used to evade border patrol and the dangers they face on the journey. Arrest and deportation are inherent risks, but the lack of water and scorching temperatures of the desert crossing are far more deadly. Those who do make it safely across the border face tightening immigration laws and an increasingly hostile public. Putzel ultimately crosses the border with a migrant and coyote.
"Life And Death On The Border" premieres on Monday, November 15 at 9/8c on Current TV.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Mondays at 9/8c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.In "Life And Death On The Border," Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel... more
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When Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel convinced the Mexican cartels to help him show the story of migrants crossing the border, it wasn't his first time navigating a dangerous underworld. Whether he's interviewing tenuously elected leaders in Somalia, neo-Nazis in Russia or negotiating access to pass through an area controlled by narco traffickers, Christof says it's not about being macho, it's about staying cool.
In "Life And Death On The Border," Putzel travels to the U.S./Mexico border to investigate one of the most contentious issues in America today: immigration. Meeting with "coyotes," the hired smugglers who offer to take immigrants across the border for a fee, Putzel learns the methods used to evade border patrol and the dangers they face on the journey. Arrest and deportation are inherent risks, but the lack of water and scorching temperatures of the desert crossing are far more deadly. Those who do make it safely across the border face tightening immigration laws and an increasingly hostile public. Putzel ultimately crosses the border with a migrant and coyote.
"Life And Death On The Border" premieres on Monday, November 15 at 9/8c on Current TV.
"Vanguard," airing weekly on Current TV Mondays at 9/8c, is a no-limits documentary series whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show's correspondents, Adam Yamaguchi, Kaj Larsen, Christof Putzel and Mariana van Zeller, serve as trusted guides who take viewers on in-depth real life adventures in pursuit of some of the world's most important stories.
For more, go to http://current.com/vanguard.When Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel convinced the Mexican cartels to help him... more
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