Vistas de la Frontera is a digital memorial for migrants who have died while crossing the United States-Mexico border. Under the 1994 immigration policy Prevention through Deterrence, the borderlands environment has been weaponized against migrants leading to the deaths of thousands. These deaths are often hidden under calls for harsher immigration policies that focus on the construction of larger structures. Using 360 technology users can see and hear the spaces where migrants have been recovered as a means of honoring each person’s death. 

Vistas de la Frontera is a memorial above all else, but it does allow for more people to see and understand the desert borderlands. Interactive technologies invite users to participate in the work of memorialization by exploring the spaces captured in each video. 

This project is, and will always be, a work in progress. At no point will it be possible to represent all of the people who have died crossing the border, and as such the work of memorialization is continuous. 

Special thanks to: Alvaro Enciso, David Whitmer, Peter Lucero, Michele Maggiora, Terry Stanford, the Tucson Samaritans, and Humane Borders.

All data about migrant deaths comes from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner in conjunction with Humane borders. See https://humaneborders.org/ for more information.

Crosses placed by Alvaro Enciso. Videos captured by Alyssa Quintanilla.