On July 15th, 2011, 667 people from 28 different countries participated in the online collective action “Border Haunt” that targeted the U.S.-Mexico border. Participants collected entries from a database that holds the names and descriptions of migrants that died trying to cross the border territory and then sent those entries into a database used to police the border. As a result, the border was conceptually and symbolically haunted for the duration of the one-day action as the border policing structure received over 1,000 reports of deceased migrants attempting to cross the border. “Border Haunt” was an artistic and political experiment that operated as an intervention against the current structures and policies which govern the U.S.-Mexico border while also prefiguring solidarities and resonances amongst the participants.
Press Coverage of the Border Haunt project can be found here:
“Deadly Conditions for Mexico-US Migrants” from Al Jazeera English.
”Interactive Art Project Lets Users Investigate Anonymous Border Deaths” from the Bay Citizen.