Nogales, AZ
31°20'04.1"N 110°57'32.0"W
Remote Video Surveillance System (RVSS)
The cross in this photograph marks the location where the body of Javier Mendoza, 45, was recovered on March 8, 2021. The Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, which works to recover and identify the remains of migrants who die in this region of Arizona, determined that Mendoza died of exposure. Mendoza is one of thousands of people who have lost their lives on the journey north through the borderlands.
His death occurred just 500 feet or so from the border wall in one of the most highly surveilled parts of Nogales, Arizona. The surveillance tower visible in this photograph is just one of three such towers that would have had a view of Mendoza’s death, which happened in a spot populated by Border Patrol game cameras and regularly patrolled by agents in trucks. In other words, every one of Mendoza’s final steps was almost certainly monitored and recorded by the U.S. Border Patrol … and yet he still died of exposure alone on this ridge. Javier's cross was placed by Tucson based artist, Alvaro Enciso.
Below: CBP game cameras that watch the road directly below where Javier's body was found
Below: 15ft away from where Javier's body was found, a game camera watches over
Below: Government owned tower locations, specifying at least two Nogales towers which were easily within sight of the location where Javier's body was found.
Below: 2023 - RVSS
Below: 2002 (oldest known CBP surveillance tower, installation sometime between 1996 and 2002)
Below: 1996 (before installation)
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23711849-rfpattachmentj-3rvssupgradeequipmentandtowerlaydowndocumentrevisona