At the trauma wards of UC San Diego Medical Center, patients injured at the border arrive every day.
“The injuries that we're seeing now, not only are they more frequent to the brain, and spine, but they're more severe,” said Alexander Tenorio, neurosurgery resident, at UC San Diego Health.
Tenorio has operated on people with brain injuries so severe they were left unable to speak or move.
“These are young patients,” said Tenorio. “They're my age. They could easily be me.”
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These patients, all migrants, have sustained injuries while attempting to climb the 30-foot fence that separates the U.S. from Mexico.
“I couldn’t hold on and I slipped,” said Karely, a Venezuelan migrant who only wanted to be identified by her first name.
She traveled on her own to Tijuana last month where she joined a group of more than 100 migrants looking to cross into the U.S. They were guided to the border fence where one by one they climbed over it. Karely fell and sprained both her ankles.
“It’s been hard being here and not being able to work,” said Karely.
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For migrants like Karely who come to the U.S. in search of a better life, these injuries can be devastating and the problems often continue even after they receive treatment.
“Unfortunately, a lot of these patients are uninsured or underinsured,” said Tenorio. “So we don't see them afterward. One of our studies for spine injuries showed that only 14% of the patients that we took care of after border fall injury came back to a clinic visit after their injury.”
Border fence-related injuries have surged since 2019 when the Trump Administration increased its height from 17 to 30 feet.
In 2019, UC San Diego reported treating 49 severely injured patients from the border fence. In 2021, they treated 270. Last year they had to convert a postpartum unit into a ward for the border fence casualties. This year they are keeping it because they are on pace to care for more than 360 people.
“It’s a risk that can turn out well or very bad,” says Karely.
Still, despite the dangers, thousands continue to risk their lives daily.
“These are human beings that are coming here, they're escaping, you know, untenable economic, political, and violent conditions,” said Tenorio.
It’s a risk many consider worth it for a chance at a better life.
Since 2019, UC San Diego has treated more than 1,000 migrants and recorded 23 deaths. Two-thirds of the patients are Mexican nationals while the others include people from all over the world.
