The new year brought new legislation and hope for migrant families wondering about the fate of their loved ones.
On January 1, 2021, President Donald Trump signed into law the bipartisan Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act, which seeks to help local jurisdictions improve the recording and reporting of missing persons and unidentified remains found along the U.S.-Mexico border—a tragedy that is increasing by the day.
“Nobody should ever have to wonder about the fate of their missing child, friend, or loved one. This bipartisan legislation addresses one of the most prevalent and tragic crises we face along our border,” said Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), who authored the bill with now VP-elect Kamala Harris. “Finally, South Texas communities will receive the resources and funding they need to identify the remains of those who have died along the border.”
Financial resources and enhanced reporting make up the largest components of the law. The act expands eligibility for grants to allow applications from state and local governments, accredited government-funded CODIS forensic laboratories, medical examiners, accredited publicly funded toxicology, crime and university forensic anthropology center laboratories, and nonprofit organizations who have collaborative agreements with state and county forensic offices for entry of data into CODIS or National Missing and Unidentified Persons Systems (NamUS).
While uploading to CODIS could have huge identification implications, the FBI’s database does hold privacy concerns for migrant families already living in the U.S. Thus, the act adds protections for biological family reference samples by precluding disclosure of such information to federal or state law enforcement agencies for law enforcement purposes.
Forensically, the act authorizes use of grant funds to hire additional DNA analysts, fingerprint examiners, forensic odontologists and forensic anthropologists. The funds can also be used to purchase state-of-the-art forensic analytical equipment.
The now-passed law significantly expands reporting efforts. It requires each jurisdiction to report missing persons and deceased individuals found to both the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and NamUS. For NamUs, the number of unidentified person cases, anthropology cases, suspected border crossing cases and associations made must also be reported. Lastly, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Government Accountability Office must report on unidentified remains and the use of rescue beacons. A part of the law gives CBP expanded authority and resources to purchase and deploy up to 170 self-powering 911 cellular relay rescue beacons to try to further mitigate migrant deaths.
“Border communities are currently shouldering the costs of identifying and recovering the remains of migrants who tragically perish while migrating to the United States,” said Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX). “This legislation will provide much needed aid for South Texas municipalities, sheriffs, farmers and ranchers to address this critical issue. The Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Act is a necessary step forward, but a band aid on a much larger Central American migration problem that we must tackle.”
Photo: The start of the border fence in the state of New Mexico—just west of El Paso, Texas. Credit: MJC Detroit.