The Yuma 14 
| Introduction |
| History |
| Economics |
| Legislature |
| A
Broken Immigration System |
| The
Devil's Highway |
| The Yuma 14 |
| Other Links |
Introduction
"The thing
that happened"On Saturday, May 19, 2001, at 1:40 p.m., between 26 and 32 Mexican men entered Quitobaquito by vehicle. This is located at the south end of Pima County, in southern Arizona. At 3:00 p.m. they were dropped off about 90 miles north of Quitobaquito, just below the Growler Mountains. The temperature was 96 degrees.
By Thursday, May 24, fourteen of these men were dead from exposure. There were twelve survivors found. Three to six men were unaccounted for. One of the guides headed back to Mexico and the numbers vary as to how many followed him. The stories also vary as to whether they made it safely or never surfaced again. According to author, Luis Urrea in The Devil's Highway, the Border Patrols don’t like to refer to this case as the "Yuma 14," as if it makes it too personal and sad to give it a name. They refer to it as the "thing that happened."
The stage for this drama was building for over 150 years. Over time, each stage of each act in this Mexican immigration theater that resembles a Greek tragedy was designed so that the Yuma 14 had to do nothing but get on stage and start walking. The desert stage known as the Devil’s Highway would suck them in and direct their destiny. History, Economics, Legislation, a Broken Immigration System were the producers. The players included the immigrants, the smugglers, the awaiting employers, U. S. Citizens, the border patrol, the Mexican government, vigilantes out to kill or capture the immigrants and coalitions out to help the immigrants, and finally the men themselves, the Yuma 14. If the survivors are counted, they are sometimes considered the Wellington 26, referring to the jurisdiction of the closest border patrol.