Death at Mexico’s Northern Border an Increasing Risk for Migrants Joel Rose and Shaheen Ainpour - NPR.org
go to original July 26, 2017

A cross in honor of dead migrants next to the border fence on the U.S./Mexico border in Agua Prieta, northwestern Mexico (Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images)

The deaths of 10 people who were discovered in a tractor-trailer parked at a Wal-Mart in San Antonio have focused new attention on the dangers of crossing the southern border.

"Putting aside what you think politically on immigration, it was a human tragedy," Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas told NPR's Morning Edition. "This is another example of desperate people who were seeking a better life trying to come here."

Those who study the border say death is a constant peril for migrants — and the risk may be increasing.

More than 210 people have died since October 2016 attempting to cross the southern border with Mexico, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"This is a life-and-death decision that these people make," said Thomas Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, in an interview with Fox News.

Those totals could have been even higher, Homan said, if not for the U.S. Border Patrol, which has discovered thousands of border-crossers in peril this year.

"The Border Patrol has already had over 2,500 'saves' — people that were in dire straits, and could have died from their trip into the United States," Homan told Fox. "Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime."

Read the rest at NPR.org

Related: As Smugglers Abandon Migrants, Border Patrol Continues Rescue Efforts (American Security Today)

Related: Human Smuggling is a Deadly Problem — and Hardline Immigration Policies Will Make It Worse (Mic)

Related: Border Angels Protect Migrants Crossing Into the U.S. from Mexico (NPR.org)

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