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In his gripping and provocative debut, anthropologist Jason De León sheds light on one of the most pressing political issues of our time-the human consequences of US immigration policy. The Land of Open Graves reveals the suffering and deaths that occur daily in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona as thousands of undocumented migrants attempt to cross the border from Mexico into the United States. Drawing on the four major fields of anthropology, De León uses an innovative combination of ethnography, archaeology, linguistics, and forensic science to produce a scathing critique of "Prevention through Deterrence," the federal border enforcement policy that encourages migrants to cross in areas characterized by extreme environmental conditions and high risk of death. For two decades, this policy has failed to deter border crossers while successfully turning the rugged terrain of southern Arizona into a killing field. In harrowing detail, De León chronicles the journeys of people who have made dozens of attempts to cross the border and uncovers the stories of the objects and bodies left behind in the desert.The Land of Open Graves will spark debate and controversy.

Immigration enforcement --- Border security --- Border control --- Border management --- Boundaries --- Cross-border security --- National security --- Immigration law enforcement --- Immigration raids --- Law enforcement --- Social aspects --- Security measures --- Mexico --- United States --- Emigration and immigration. --- Emigration and immigration --- Government policy. --- Border security -- Social aspects -- Arizona. --- Border security -- Social aspects -- Mexican-American Border Region. --- Immigration enforcement -- Social aspects -- Arizona. --- Immigration enforcement -- Social aspects -- Mexican-American Border Region. --- Mexico -- Emigration and immigration. --- United States -- Emigration and immigration -- Government policy. --- anthropologist. --- anthropology. --- coyotes. --- dangers of border crossing. --- environmental extremes. --- ethnographer. --- immigrant studies. --- immigration policy. --- mexico-united states border. --- political activism. --- risk of death. --- sociologist. --- sonoran desert of arizona. --- undocumented migrants. --- us immigration policy. --- us politics. --- what its like to cross the border.