The river and its population
Over the past decade, the city's largest homeless population has formed settlements along the Tijuana River canal, which they refer to as El Bordo. As has been demonstrated in other cities around the world, these settlements are the result of a complex problem, notably mental health issues, and addressing them requires considering multiple perspectives.
Our study showed that more than half (61%) of the people interviewed in El Bordo had lived in the US, and most of them had been deported.
The lack of support networks in Tijuana, discrimination, and substance abuse drive these people to seek refuge in the river. Environmental injustice exposes the most marginalized communities to the worst of the environment, in addition to structural violence.
The main problem is the social stigma and negative perception that Tijuana society holds toward the population living within the river channel. This stems from a lack of objective, truthful, and unbiased information disseminated by the mass media. This causes a lack of empathy, social unawareness, and dehumanization of the people who live along the river.
Environmental structural violence
On the border between Mexico and the United States, we observe structural environmental violence involving the intersection of several human rights, including access to housing and clean water. The increasing pollution of the Tijuana River negatively impacts deported and homeless residents of the area. In this context, structural environmental violence highlights how the environment becomes a mediator of structural harm.
THE POPULATION OF THE TIJUANA RIVER
Monitoring of binational waters; health risks.
Tijuana is the deportation capital of the world
Tijuana is the city in the world that receives the most deportees from the US. According to official sources, Tijuana is the leading destination for deportees from the United States (21% in 2022) and receives approximately 40% of Mexicans who return involuntarily from the US. This statistic translates to the arrival of nearly 90,000 people in Tijuana each year, more than most migrant caravans, but with less media attention.