Report: Record number of migrants have died crossing the US-Mexico border this year

The Department of Homeland Security have reported to CNN that a record number of migrants have died while making the journey across the border into the United States. The 750 migrants who have died this year have surpassed last year’s number by 200.

The journey across the border includes several hazards such as falling off the fall, dangers and unpredictable rivers and scorching desert heat.

The figures don’t record all deaths as local agencies may deal with dead bodies without involving Homeland Security.

No singular cause of death has been disclosed, but recent weather reports have said that the Southwest has been hit by a series of heat waves and is experiencing one of their worst droughts in over 1000 years. Exposure to the extreme heat in the past has been a common cause of migrant deaths.

12,854 migrants have also been rescued by border agents this fiscal year, which has comfortable surpassed the previous four years, which is as far back as the agency has tracked this data. The previous high was in 2019, with 5,335 migrants being rescued.

Charities and advocates for migrants have said that they may be forced to embark on perilous journeys to reach the United States, citing border policies like a Trump-era pandemic emergency restriction that allows authorities to turn people back at the border.

“Migrants, refugees, and entire families are using more distant and dangerous routes to come to the United States,” Fernando García, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights, previously told CNN.

Customs and Border Protection did not comment on the recently released figures, however they did say that human traffickers are taking advantage of those in desperate situations.

“Transnational criminal organizations continue to recklessly endanger the lives of individuals they smuggle for their own financial gain with no regard for human life,” CBP said in a statement. “Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in remote and dangerous areas, leading to a rise in the number of rescues but also tragically a rise in the number of deaths. The terrain along the border is extreme, the summer heat is severe, and the miles of desert migrants must hike after crossing the border in many areas are unforgiving.”