SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — For migrants, the journey to cross the US-Mexico border is often mountainous and perilous.
Some are abandoned by coyotes and left to wander for miles at risk of dehydration, starvation and injury. It’s why CBP started its Missing Migrant Program back in 2017 to prevent the loss of life among migrants attempting to enter the U.S.
The border patrol told ABC 10News that they currently have nine ‘Border Rescue Beacons’ throughout the San Diego sector. The beacons are placed in high-traffic areas and allow migrants to call for help if they are in distress.
Per CBP, there were five rescues because of these beacons in fiscal year 2023.
Now, a group of designers from the NewSchool of Architecture & Design is working to improve the current design to save even more lives.
“If there’s a way to improve the design and make it universally identifiable as humanitarian aid, that’s something we would want to see,” said Tomas Perez, an architecture student spearheading the community effort.
Perez and his fellow designers hosted a workshop on Friday to brainstorm with other community members.
“We’ve invited human rights organizations, design professionals, students, and any interested government officials and migrant advocacy groups as well to give us their feedback,” Perez said.
With the current design, Perez said they are concerned migrants may mistake a rescue beacon for a piece of surveillance technology rather than an emergency lifeline – hoping to make adjustments to the lighting, signage and overall structure of the beacons.
“As designers we see this opportunity to provide our input and alleviate the burden of design which the border patrol has…and allow us to help them in designing these rescue beacons so they are more effective at saving lives,” Perez said.
Perez tells us once they finish workshopping their designs, they hope to work with CBP to implement them in our region.
