TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Deported, homeless, and into the canal: environmental structural violence in the binational Tijuana River
JO  - Social science and medicine (1982)
A1  - Calderón-Villarreal, Alhelí
A1  - Terry, Brendan
A1  - Friedman, Joseph
A1  - González-Olachea, Sara Alejandra
A1  - Chavez, Alfonso
A1  - Díaz López, Margarita
A1  - Pacheco Bufanda, Lilia
A1  - Martínez, Carlos
A1  - Medina Ponce, Stephanie Elizabeth
A1  - Cázares-Adame, Rebeca
A1  - Rochin Bochm, Paola Fernanda
A1  - Kayser, Georgia
A1  - Strathdee, Steffanie A.
A1  - Muñoz Meléndez, Gabriela
A1  - Holmes, Seth M.
A1  - Bojorquez, Ietza
A1  - Los Huertos, Marc
A1  - Bourgois, Philippe
SP  - e115044
EP  - e115044
VL  - 305
IS  - 
N2  - INTRODUCTION: The US deports more Mexicans to Tijuana than any other borderland city. Returning involuntarily as members of a stigmatized underclass, many find themselves homeless and de-facto stateless. Subject to routinized police victimization, many take refuge in the Tijuana River Canal (El Bordo). Previous reports suggest Tijuana River water may be contaminated but prior studies have not accessed the health effects or contamination of the water closest to the river residents. <br><br>METHODS: A binational, transdisciplinary team undertook a socio-environmental, mixed methods assessment to simultaneously characterize Tijuana River water quality with chemical testing, assess the frequency of El Bordo residents' water-related diseases, and trace water contacts with epidemiological survey methods (n = 85 adults, 18+) in 2019, and ethnographic methods in 2019-2021. Our analysis brings the structural violence framework into conversation with an environmental injustice perspective to documented how social forces drive poor health outcomes enacted through the environment. <br><br>RESULTS: The Tijuana River water most proximate to its human inhabitants fails numerous water-quality standards, posing acute health risks. Escherichia coli values were ∼40,000 times the Mexican regulatory standard for directly contacted water. Skin infections (47%), dehydration (40%) and diarrhea (28%) were commonly reported among El Bordo residents. Residents are aware the water is contaminated and strive to minimize harm to their health by differentially using local water sources. Their numerous survival constraints, however, are exacerbated by routine police violence which propels residents and other people who inject drugs into involuntary contact with contaminated water. <br><br>DISCUSSION: Human rights to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene are routinely violated among El Bordo inhabitants. This is exacerbated by violent policing practices that force unhoused deportees to seek refuge in waterways, and drive water contacts. Furthermore, US-Mexico 'free-trade' agreements drive rapid growth in Tijuana, restrict Mexican environmental regulation enforcement, and drive underinvestment in sewage systems and infrastructure.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0277-9536
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115044
ID  - ref1
ER  -