About

Bruce O Parks, MD, is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pathology in the Clinical Series Track at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. He earned his MD from the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson in 1982 and completed his residency at the same institution. Dr. Parks is certified by the American Board of Pathology in Forensic Pathology since 1988. His professional experience includes serving as Chief Resident in the Department of Pathology at the University of Arizona during 1985-1986. He is actively involved in clinical pathology and diagnostic programs within the department, contributing to education and research efforts. Dr. Parks's background reflects a strong foundation in pathology with a focus on forensic pathology, and he holds a significant role in the academic and clinical activities of the department.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Law
• Demography
• Geography

Selected publications

• Migrant Deaths in Southern Arizona: Recovered Undocumented Border Crosser Remains Investigated by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, 1990-2020

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2021 · 32 citations

  • Political Science
  • Political Science
  • Geography

  Thousands of undocumented border crossers have died while attempting to cross the US-Mexico border since the 1990s. Prior studies have found that these deaths are a consequence of increased border enforcement efforts as well as of economic, political, and social conditions in immigrant-sending countries and in the United States. The present study contributes to this expanding body of literature. Drawing on data from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME), we provide information on the recovery of human remains either known or believed to be of undocumented border crossers in southern Arizona between FY 1990 and 2020. We find that during this period the remains of at least 3,356 undocumented border crossers were recovered in the region, with the majority being found since 2005. US Border Patrol apprehensions, which immigration scholars often use as proxy for undocumented migration trends, have decreased in that agency’s Tucson Sector since the mid-2000s. However, the rate of recovered remains of undocumented border crossers has largely increased even as apprehensions have declined, which is a dynamic that suggests undocumented migration in southern Arizona has become increasingly dangerous. We also find that the remains of undocumented border crossers were increasingly recovered from more remote areas of southern Arizona over time, which further supports this assertion. The PCOME records we examined over our study period suggest that migrants who have died in southern Arizona are largely male (84%), and, among identified decedents, 20-49 years of age (82%) and from Mexico (80%). Most perished due to exposure (38%) or an undetermined cause of death (48%), and were successfully identified post-mortem (64%). Nevertheless, as highlighted throughout this report, we find important changes in the breakdown of these factors across time, for which we offer possible explanations. Our hope is that policymakers and the public will consider the data presented in this report, as access to empirical evidence is crucial when formulating public policy and when addressing the root causes of critical social concerns such as border-crosser deaths along the US-Mexico border.

  Publisher

• Structural Violence and Migrant Deaths in Southern Arizona: Data from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, 1990–2013

  Journal on Migration and Human Security · 2014-12-01 · 61 citations

  articleSenior author

  This article analyzes numeric trends and demographic characteristics of undocumented border crossers (UBCs) who have perished in southern Arizona between 1990 and 2013 in the area covered by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) in Tucson, Arizona. Of 2,413 UBC decedents investigated during this period, 95 percent died after 1999 and 65 percent after 2005. The rate of UBC deaths in the Tucson Border Patrol Sector has been consistently high, with an average of nearly 163 deaths investigated per year between 1999 and 2013. The increase in border enforcement during the mid-to-late 1990s, which led to a shifting of unauthorized migration flows into more desolate areas, coincided with an increase in migrant remains investigated by the PCOME. Despite a decrease in the number of unauthorized crossers traversing the area as measured by the number of Border Patrol apprehensions in the Tucson Sector, the number of remains examined for every 100,000 apprehensions nearly doubled between 2009 and 2011. These findings suggest that migrants are being forced to travel for longer periods of time through remote areas in an attempt to avoid detection by US authorities, thus increasing the probability of death. The typical UBC decedent can be described as a male near the age of 30 from central or southern Mexico who perished in a remote area of southern Arizona after attempting to cross into the United States. Nevertheless, the share of non-Mexican UBCs in the region has increased notably over time. The findings show other important differences in UBC decedent characteristics across time periods, which speak to the dynamic nature of unauthorized migration as a social process. The authors contend that these deaths and demographic changes are the result of structural and political transformations over the past two decades. They argue that the tragic, yet mostly preventable, migrant deaths in southern Arizona constitute a form of structural violence.

  PublisherDOI

• Structural Violence and Migrant Deaths in Southern Arizona: Data from the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, 1990-2013

  Journal on Migration and Human Security · 2014-01-01 · 88 citations

  articleSenior author

  This article analyzes numeric trends and demographic characteristics of undocumented border crossers (UBCs) who have perished in southern Arizona between 1990 and 2013 in the area covered by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) in Tucson, Arizona. Of 2,413 UBC decedents investigated during this period, 95 percent died after 1999 and 65 percent after 2005. The rate of UBC deaths in the Tucson Border Patrol Sector has been consistently high, with an average of nearly 163 deaths investigated per year between 1999 and 2013. The increase in border enforcement during the mid-to-late 1990s, which led to a shifting of unauthorized migration flows into more desolate areas, coincided with an increase in migrant remains investigated by the PCOME. Despite a decrease in the number of unauthorized crossers traversing the area as measured by the number of Border Patrol apprehensions in the Tucson Sector, the number of remains examined for every 100,000 apprehensions nearly doubled between 2009 and 2011. These findings suggest that migrants are being forced to travel for longer periods of time through remote areas in an attempt to avoid detection by US authorities, thus increasing the probability of death.The typical UBC decedent can be described as a male near the age of 30 from central or southern Mexico who perished in a remote area of southern Arizona after attempting to cross into the United States. Nevertheless, the share of non-Mexican UBCs in the region has increased notably over time. The findings show other important differences in UBC decedent characteristics across time periods, which speak to the dynamic nature of unauthorized migration as a social process. The authors contend that these deaths and demographic changes are the result of structural and political transformations over the past two decades. They argue that the tragic, yet mostly preventable, migrant deaths in southern Arizona constitute a form of structural violence.

  PublisherDOI

• A Continued Humanitarian Crisis at the Border: Undocumented Border Crosser Deaths Recorded by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner, 1990-2012

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2013-01-01 · 74 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Dover Port Mortuary Independent Review Subcommittee Final Report

  2012-02-27

  article
  Publisher

• Validation of a Temperature Prediction Model for Heat Deaths in Undocumented Border Crossers

  Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health · 2012-04-17 · 14 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Symposium on Border Crossing Deaths: Introduction

  Journal of Forensic Sciences · 2008-01-01 · 49 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Estimating the Incidence of Heat-Related Deaths Among Immigrants in Pima County, Arizona

  Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health · 2006-04-01 · 27 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Unauthorized Border Crossings and Migrant Deaths: Arizona, New Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, 2002–2003

  American Journal of Public Health · 2006-05-31 · 57 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVES: We examined the major causes of and risk factors for death among migrants who died while making unauthorized border crossings into the United States from Mexico. METHODS: Decedents were included in the study if (1) their remains were found between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003, in any US county along the 650-mi (1040-km) section of the US-Mexican border from Yuma, Ariz, to El Paso, Tex; (2) their immigration status was unauthorized; and (3) they were believed to have died during transit from Mexico to the United States. Characteristics of the decedents and causes of and risk factors for their deaths were examined. RESULTS: Among the 409 decedents meeting our inclusion criteria, environmental heat exposure (n=250; 61.1%) was the leading cause of death, followed by vehicle crashes (n=33; 8.1%) and drownings (n=24; 5.9%). Male decedents (n= 298; 72.8%) outnumbered female decedents (n = 105; 25.6%) nearly 3 to 1. More than half of the decedents were known to be Mexican nationals (n=235; 57.5%) and were aged 20 to 39 years (n=213; 52.0%); the nationality of 148 (36.2%) decedents was undetermined. CONCLUSIONS: Deaths among migrants making unauthorized crossings of the US-Mexican border are due to causes that are largely preventable. Prevention strategies should target young Mexican men, and focus on preventing them from conceiving plans to cross the border, discouraging them from using dangerous routes as crossing points, and providing search-and-rescue teams to locate lost or injured migrant crossers.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Heat fatalities in Pima county, Arizona

  Health & Place · 2005-09-13 · 10 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Tim Flood

  6 shared

• Kurt B. Nolte

  4 shared

• Corrine E. Stern

  National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

  4 shared

• Julie Gilchrist

  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

  4 shared

• Harold W. Kohl

  4 shared

• Robin C. Reineke

  Southwest Center for Educational Excellence

  4 shared

• Dennis M. Perrotta

  4 shared

• Bob England

  Maricopa County Department of Public Health

  4 shared

Awards & honors

• Chief Resident, University of Arizona, Department of Patholo…
• Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Honor Society) Arizona Alp…
• Cyprus Pima Mine Scholarship, 1976-1977