all the lips are a little overworked. some of them, there's a few that have an element of personality that are interesting. >> the former president says he had not picked up a paint brush until he left office. >> i'm morgan radford, thanks for watching, stay tuned to al jazeera. immigration, just the word gets people worked up, but for people who make their life and

their living along america's southern border, the conversation is less political and more pragmatic. it's about crime, safety, family and humanity, and life and death. the upcoming documentary series, boarderland, sends six people who have different views about immigration. >> i think it's important that you all see and hear this. >> a lot of people don't have a clue what goes on down here when you live near the border, and the only way to find out what is going on, really, is to find out for yourself. >> in tucson the body of in

the morgue jumped to 169 people last year. the drug cartels they say have turned the arizona desert into an illicit highway. and along that path, aid volunteers leaves jugs of water and emergency kits to help the travel of migrants. these are the people who know undocumented immigration best, because the us-mexico border is their backyard. so how do they see the debate, and where do their opinions diverge from or sink up with yours. we'll find out. my co-host wajahat ali have been so excited for this show. we have been encouraging our viewers to send in their questions, because we're going to answer them.

>> yeah, one viewer said i don't think people realize howdy verse the borders are but there's a human cost also. check out this website. this is arizona and this is the border, all of these red dots event all of the migrants who have passed away, and each red dot has a story. >> joining us is the chief medical examiner of pima county, arizona. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> i'm curious what do you face as a corner in pima county, arizona that different from most in america? >> we have had the highest number of undocumented migrant deaths for a long time. it became a problem in 2000,

2001, where we had 77 deaths in 2001 of people that year of people we assumed to be migrants and that doubled in 2002 to 145, and from 2002 to the end of 2013 year. >> to what do you attribute the escalation? >> well, it's a response to changes in border-enforcement patterns. so the border patrol had an operation in the middle '90s, where they wanted to decrease people crossing near major population areas, say san diego or places in texas, and as a result of that, more people went to remote areas like the desert in southern arizona and that results in an increase number of deaths for us and the problems since. >> right now we're showing video

out of your morgue which is full presumably mostly from undocumented migrants. do the numbers of these people combined the difficulty of identifying them feel like you are dealing with a mass fatality event? >> we treat it as mass fatality event because you have to deal with it essentially the same way. so if there is a bus or train trash and there is a number of facilities usually the cause of death is not the issue, it's injuries resulting from the plane crash or whatever it was. same thing with deaths in the desert most people die from exposure to the elements, and really the -- the issue is trying to identify who they are, and return those remains to their family. >> lisa our community is chiming in as to reasons as to why there has been an escalated rise in

the number of undocumented migrants . . . and monica has a question for dr. hess . . . >> well, we do. the pima county medical examiner's office in tucson does have an understanding with the mexican government. there is a large office who's staff's job is to assist us to try to make indication of these remains if we believe they are mexican citizens, and help get those remains back to whoever their families are. so the majority of the remains we have identified 85% have been

mexican citizens, they do try to assist us. >> dr. hess i imagine when you are trying to figure out who these people were, you face much greater challenges than the average corner because you have far fewer clues. tell us how you go through this process. >> the whole process is a challenge. essentially what we do with unidentified remains is create a profile. so when you look at the remains if they are in goods condition and not decomposed you can determine whether or not it's a man or woman, how tall they are, how much they way, do they have identifying marks or scars or tattoos, if they had surgical procedures. what does the dental work look like? can you take fingerprints or a facial photo? then you have a profile of this

person and you need to compare it to missing person's information if it's available. >> our community is again on facebook chiming in. jacob says the problem is 9/11 . . . and dr. hess what is the average profile of these individuals, these bodies that you see at your morgue? >> well, the average profile of the deaths not necessarily the people that don't die, but of the people that have died that we have identified about 85% are males, they are usually between the ages of 30 to 50. it's not teenagers or people in their 20s. it's slightly middle-aged folks is the most common. most that have died have died from environmental exposure, not

from gunshot wound injuries or some kind of traumatic death. it's just people trying to get from point, a to point b that didn't make the tr-- trip. >> is it difficult to make a database for people crossing illegally? >> sure, there are a lot of problems with that. first you have to identify who that person is, do they fit into this category of undocumented border crosser. this isn't someone that we're counting that has been in the united states for a period time. working here and then dies in tucson or phoenix or some other city in a motor vehicle accident. these are people that are actively trying to cross the border and usually die in an accident with a lot of other people. and how do you count those people and know who they are, as people have reasons to travel with

aliases or with false indications. how do you handle those remains after they are identified, and that's really what our biggest challenge is. >> so what is life like along the border for other residents in arizona? up next you'll meet a sheriff who lives his life trying to keep mexican's drug cartels off of american soil. and water in the desert comes from the hands of volunteers like mary. >> they were driven to find a better life. >> i am citizen of this country... i am the top of the world... >> now they drive to live >> everyone should drive a cab in new york city once. >> finding peace, security and success. >> you can work, you can do anything you want to. >> hop in as these courageous drivers take you on an inspiring journey. >> you don't like this country, get the hell out of here. >> driven an america tonight special series

and don't miss the premiere of borderland, a ground breaking television event on al jazeera america

>> on al jazeera america >> techknow our experts take you beyond the lab >> there's about five million points of data >> and explore the technology changing our world. only on al jazeera america # >> if you look to my left with the shadow ends, that's where the fence ends. >> the fence just ends? >> yeah. >> welcome back we're talking about daily life on the us-mexico border. that was the sheriff, and he joins us, and also with us is a volunteer with no more deaths. >> we're out here to support life and asking questions about

why people are coming and are upset that people have to make this journey. >> thank you both for being here. sheriff daniels walk us along the border through the lens of a law enforcement officer. >> hello, lisa, and thanks for having me in may it will be 30 years i worked on this border. when we talk about border issues, and i'm here for border security as a public safety officer and sheriff, that's my number one concern. back in the '90s as the chief medical examiner stated to y'all is the federal government came up with a plan to protect the pop late areas and the ports. the resources, technology, staffing, fencing, et cetera et cetera, have been placed on the ports and in the popular areas.

the second part of that plan was to reroute that activity for those looking for a better way of life into the rural parts of the southwest border. the plan was it would be a deterrent because it is very tough terrain. they tackled that, and as a result our area is now a land of activi activi activity. it's a sad story out here. >> does anything happen along the border without the cartels? >> yeah, though that think the cartels don't run these borders are wrong. they run these routes and boards that cut through these private ranches, these private lands.

these recreational lands that are there for us to enjoy, that now people don't go to anymore because they are scared. >> 18,500 troops on the border, and charles says . . . and sheriff daniels i like that metaphor of a band aid, do you agree with that, that right now this is band aid approach? >> i totally agree. in my county alone we have 1500 federal agents to address 83 miles of international border in my county, and we still do not have a secure border. and you are exactly right, one

of the big challenges and concerns i hear all the time from the citizens is the fact that how are they applying the resources they have? the other aspect i talk a lot about and it's very frustrating, is the fact that our border security by our federal government is no longer a mandated plan, it's a discretionary plan based on the plan in the '90s that nobody wants to address or define. what do we do next? >> you and your volunteer complain i don't kn complain -- companions feel you have a job as well. is your objective? >> our objective is to end death and suffering, so we are putting water out on trails and looking for people in distress in order to end the death and suffering. >> how

often do you come face-to-face and speak to the border crossers? >> well, it's a very common thing. sometimes we leave water and then we go back and check on the water, and we know people have crossed through, and then other times we do come in contact with people and we'll wash and bandage their feet if they have blisters, and give them water as well as electrolytes and food. >> we just showed video of border patrol walking through the desert and kicking open and breaking open these water. >> no one is coming for the water. that's for sure. and there are the root causes of these migrations everything from the free trade policies that are unfair, to violence in people's home countries, as then as one person put on twitter, it's think 2 million deportations where people have been deported

from their homes, lives and families, and they will risk everything to come back. sheriff. >> i'm an undocumented immigrant and florida state university student. sheriff, seeing that your jurisdiction is so close to the border why is your message to politicians in washington who continue to craft policy to try to make our border more secure? how can we prevent deaths along the border? thank you. >> thanks, juan. good question. what i focus is as sheriff number one. and i have reached out to our heards in regards to securing the border. those that live here in my county know the border is not secure. so that's one part of it securing the border properly. the men and woman that work with

me and work close here in our country and are attempting to keep our community safe and protect those that come across that are placed in danger. the other aspect is your question on immigration. immigration policy is not something i get involved with. we need to redefine that policy on immigration and allow people to come across that deserve to be here and do it in a legal way. >> sheriff hess i spent a lot of time on that border covering stories, and i have yet to find one law enforcement officer that finds pleasure in coming across these people trying to seek a better life. but what do these criminal enterprises gain from that migrant journey? >> well, it's not just our county. it's not the 22 counties on the southwest border. we're primary counties.

the goal is to get their illicit goods, products, marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin, human smuggling all the way down to kids. people that aren't affected by it, can you imagine if what we see here the numbing effect that has happened over the last 30 years and coming through our private properties at 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning and then the citizens coming out and being assaulted by these groups that are in desperation for freedom. if that happened anywhere else in this country, we would have a national outcry, but what is happening here is going to effect all of this country if we don't take immediate national attention to what is going on.

head. >> i agree that more militarization has not helped, and we need an immigration policy that is separate from our homeland security policy. >> politicians and the media seem to dominate the general narrative. when we come back, the details >> evey saturday, join us for exclusive, revealing, and suprizing talks with the most interesting people of our time. >> thinking differently is actualy punished... is public education actually failing america? >> education is the biggest investment we make in our futures. >> but what are we really teaching our kids? >> i think it's a catastrophe that so many school disticts have cut arts programs back... >> could his reforms lead to happier, more fufilled lives. >> schools need to encourage the development of imagination... >> sir ken robinson talk to al jazeera only on al jazeera america

>> i don't know how many thousands of gallonsover water i have lost. six trucks, two horses, $15,000 worth of tools. poisoned two dogs, and we don't go anywhere without leaving somebody home. >> do you ever feel like moving your house to a different location? >> no, we're not leaving. >> welcome back, we're talking about the realities of life along the us- mexico border. sheriff daniel what is missing from the discussion?

>> what is missing is the voice of the sheriffs. we're directly for the citizens. the 22 sheriffs on the southwest border we know what is going on on the borders. they are the victims when they are burglarized, assaulted, whatever the crime may be, so they know what is going on, and so do we. discussion. >> this is a round table discussion from all of our guests. tony asks. . .. and i want to go to you first with that. >> yeah, i think this is something that will go down in history books. were you a part of people here in the region -- were you a part of saving lives or did you look the other way?

this is in our own backyard that there are hundreds of people who's bodies are discovered every year and thousands more who will never be found. and this is also a question of immigrants who also treat the immigrants who are here and rejoin families to have stronger communities. >> doctor? >> no, it's very important, you know, from my aspect, we need to keep accurate data. we need to be open to discuss the issue with people that are interested and the number of deaths there are, and provide that information to interested parties so people can make informed decisions. >> and sheriff daniels? >> well, i think it is very important the reason i agree to do these kind of shows is to share what is really going on on the border, number 1. number 2, i have been serving the people of this county for 30 years. it would be a dream of mine that

we don't have deaths in our county. we spend millions of dollars of year in law enforcement helping those in need, whether it be a rescue mission or investigating those out in the desert. >> do we need to redefine border security? >> yes, we do. and i think it starts with a paradigm shift. >> marriet >> riet >> marrieta what was border security look like for you? >> border security does not come from more drones and walls. it comes from people being able to rejoin their families through ports of entry, and safe and healthy border communities that have good schools and good education, and -- and more walls and more drones are only going

to cause more deaths and suffering. >> sheriff here is a question from michael harper, . . . >> that's a tough question. that's a very tough question, but can we do better? yes. since the '90s plan, they have done some very, very good work on the border when it comes to the populated areas and ports. let's continue on with that, and as your other guest speaker was talking, the process -- coming across our border legally, that -- we all want to see that, but as long as the border is unsecure, and there's plans in place, we're going to continue to have the smuggling, crimes, and deaths. that's not going to go away. >> sheriff what ultimately brings people together on this issue? >> the people. i -- i serve for the people. i care about people.

i go out there every day. i go to these crime scenes. 95% of the people i believe are good to great people. that 5% that are there to violate -- i'm talking about the criminal elements the ones harming those -- whether they are u.s. citizens or coming across -- those are the ones that cause great concern for me. >> marrieta what do you think issue. >> i think most would agree that no one should have to die to feed their families, and no one should have to die to reunite with their family. and that's a principle that we can all gather around. >> thanks so all of our guests. and remember this is just the beginning. there is some game-changing television coming your way, a

documentary series called "boarderland." until next time, we'll see you online. >> >> afghanistan goes to the polls in the first democratic handover of power. >> hello, welcome to al jazeera america, live from doha. coverage is dominated by the vote in afghanistan, and what looks like enthusiasm. >> thousands of homeless in the solomon islands, thousands of communities washed