Border Patrol authorities in El Paso, Texas, are resorting to pleading with the family members of potential migrants to convince them not to try to cross the U.S. southern border, as the amounts of deaths amid scorching temperatures continues to soar.
Concretely, the sector stretching from Hudspeth County to the New Mexico-Arizona state line has recorded 140 deaths so far this fiscal year, which began last October. That is almost the same amount as the entire fiscal year 2023, when 149 fatalities were recorded, but with a little over two months to go.
Wendi S. Lee, special operations supervisor for the Border Patrol's El Paso Sector, told Border Report that deterrence efforts are now also focusing on sponsors living in the U.S. and sending money abroad for migration purposes.
"Sponsors are the key to getting the message not to expose their loved ones to the dangers. We want to reach out to the mothers and fathers, sisters, cousins, brothers: Do not pay that smuggler to have your relative be exposed to the dangers of crossing the border," Lee said.
However, crossings continue happening, and Border Patrol has conducted 800 rescue operations in the sectors this fiscal year. One case involved people suffering dehydration in the desert, while the other saw authorities rescue nine people from the Rio Grande as they struggled in the current.
This last scenario has been increasingly common as smugglers take migrants through more perilous routes amid increased enforcement from state and federal authorities. Earlier this month, fire department officials pulled 54 people from the Rio Grande, several of them with hypothermia.
"I have a message for the migrants: Crossing illegally is against the law and it is dangerous," Sunland Park Fire Chief Daniel Medrano said.
The people pulled out of the water were turned over to law enforcement, with Border Patrol agents in the area of the rescue. A spokesman for El Paso fire said that all those rescued were adults but didn't specify their ages. This number of people is odd. Usually, we have one or two people in the water," said Duenas, noting that authorities perform water rescues "weekly, every two weeks."
In this context, federal authorities have also partnered with local officials and Mexican diplomats with the purpose of deterring migrants from crossings. The campaign, called "No se arriesgue" (Don't risk it) is running public service announcements online and engaging the Spanish-speaking community.
"This site symbolizes the struggle of thousands of migrants who are exploited by transnational criminal organizations and smuggled across this treacherous terrain with complete disregard for their safety," said El Paso Sector Border Patrol Chief Agent Anthony "Scott" Good.
"The migrants are not properly informed about dangers. The steep terrain, the jagged cliffs increase the risk of injury. A simple twist of an ankle can easily turn critical," he added. To cross into the U.S., migrants have to go through Mount Cristo Rey, which can be extremely difficult for many who are already in weak health as a result of their lengthy journey to the border.
As well as the campaign, Border Patrol is trying to reduce fatalities by placing emergency beacons in the desert, which include geolocators and instructions to deal 911 when lost. Smugglers, however, have been telling migrants not to contact authorities because they will be deported.
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