This year's summer season set several historic records pushing unprecedented highs along the U.S. West Coast. Amid the heat wave, Mexican authorities urged migrants not to attempt border crossings back in July, as the risk of scorching temperatures could prove to be life-threatening from heatstroke and dehydration.
As a result of the heat, deaths near the border in New Mexico have significantly increased the last couple of years, according to a new piece by the Associated Press which found that 108 presumed migrants have been found dead near the border in 2024 so far, a similar number to the 2023 total (113), but both a sizeable rise from just nine deaths in 2020 and ten in 2019. In all, fatalities in the area have increasing tenfold compared to five years ago
According to CBP data published on Sept. 16, despite border crossings decreasing across the board after Biden's asylum ban, encounters in New Mexico went up 22%, going from 9,087 in July to 11,016 in August. As opposed to Texas and California, the New Mexico border typically has less border agents making it ideal for smugglers to avoid detection and apprehension.
The downside? The remote and mountainous areas west of El Paso are fertile ground for exhaustion, dehydration, and heat-related deaths. The area experienced its hottest June on record in 2024, with temperatures reaching as high as 109°F (42.7°C).
The University of New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator, which is responsible for identifying the dead and conducting autopsies, has seen a sharp increase in cases related to migrant deaths, according to the aforementioned AP report.
"Our reaction was sadness, horror and surprise because it had been very consistently low for as long as anyone can remember," said Heather Edgar, a forensic anthropologist with the office. The office has had to increase staffing in the region to manage the additional caseload, growing from three to nearly ten deputy medical investigators to handle the extra deaths on top of the usual 2,500 forensic cases.
Authorities have taken steps to mitigate the humanitarian crisis. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has added surveillance equipment and deployed additional search and rescue teams equipped with medical specialists. The agency has also placed emergency beacons and location placards along the border, allowing distressed migrants to summon help.
New Mexico's migrant death numbers now rival those in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, historically one of the deadliest border regions. In the first eight months of 2024, 114 presumed migrants died in Arizona's desert.
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