A simple wooden cross that was placed at SUNY Plattsburgh this spring to honor migrants who have died trying to cross the Northern Border has now been moved to a spot closer to the border in Champlain, New York.
The cross was made by artist Alvaro Enciso in memory of about two dozen migrants who have lost their lives in recent years trying to cross the Northern Border both into the United States and Canada. The cross has been placed near the Great Chazy River where Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores died last winter.
Vasquez-Flores, who was from Mexico, had illegally crossed into the United States in hopes of reuniting with her husband and relatives. Alvaro Enciso has created more than 1,600 similar crosses that have been placed across the southern border of United States marking sites where migrants have died. This is the first cross placed along the Northern Border.
The cross was also part of an exhibition on border migration at SUNY Plattsburgh last fall curated by Anthropology Associate Professor Amy Mountcastle.