Navigating perils at the US-Mexico border: an illustrated exploration of trauma among southern border migrants

The number of migrants seeking refuge and asylum in the United States continues to increase yearly, exacerbated by the recent Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The total number of U.S border patrol encounters has now exceeded 2.7 million in 2022, which is a more than 5-fold increase from 2017. Current published literature suggests that most border-related injuries are related to boarder-wall crossing, fleeing, and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs).  Our institution is near a large portion of the border, and we treat a high number of migrants who sustain injuries while attempting to cross the border. In addition to categorizing these injuries by organ-based system, we classify these injuries as relating to desert crossing, border wall crossing, fleeing (which includes MVCs), and traveling on trains. In this pictorial essay, we present imaging and clinical findings of traumatic and non-traumatic injuries related to border crossing events