A Spectrum of Violence: The Intersection of Antemortem and Postmortem Embodiment in Migrant Death Investigation at the US-Mexico Border

The objective of this literature review is to examine how the humanitarian crisis of migrant death at the US-Mexico border epitomizes the antemortem and postmortem dimensions of structural violence and the lasting effects it can have on the human body. The review aims to expose biological scientists to applied embodiment research in the US-Mexico border context and to further dialogues on the utility of embodiment in medicolegal spheres. After describing the ongoing migrant death crisis, the article reviews embodiment constructs in biological anthropology pertaining to structural violence and marginalization across the life course. It then surveys studies examining skeletal and dental biomarkers of structural violence as embodied in migrant populations, including oral pathology, dental modifications, porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, enamel hypoplasia, cranial fluctuating asymmetry, vertebral neural canal size, and stature. These studies, conducted in forensic institutions with data collected through casework, provide evidence of structural vulnerabilities faced by different migrant groups and demonstrate that the migrant lived experience is not uniform. After death, the bodies and material artifacts of those who perish while migrating further embody structural violence by reflecting the arduousness of the journey, undergoing taphonomic changes, and receiving treatment that often leads to further erasure. While many migrant decedents disappear in desert and ranchland environments, those who are found are often trapped in the medicolegal system, either undergoing further bodily destruction for the purpose of identification or being buried in unmarked graves without proper investigation. To exemplify the various postmortem trajectories of migrant individuals, the authors describe the investigative experiences of Operation Identification (OpID), a humanitarian forensic initiative in Texas, highlighting the realities of how embodiment principles are incorporated into migrant death casework. Throughout forensic exhumations and the identification process, OpID regularly encounters the biological and circumstantial evidence of violence reviewed throughout the article. The authors concludes by discussing future directions for integrating embodiment frameworks into death investigation around the country.