(VitalNews.org) – The most dangerous area to cross the border into the US isn’t in Texas, as many Americans may think, but in Arizona, according to a recent spike in deaths among those attempting to enter the country illegally over the southern border.
Along a border sector next to Lukeville, Arizona, there’s been a 167% increase in deaths among migrants seeking asylum, which means it’s now the most dangerous area for crossing attempts from Mexico into the US. This year, 24 bodies were recovered by the Border Patrol of Tucson, nine more than the previous year. Customs and Border Protection as a whole has recovered over 150 dead migrants since this time last year.
These numbers aren’t the whole picture and only include the bodies that the CBP recovered, not counting those other agencies recovered, so the true death toll isn’t quite clear. Most of these deaths have to do with the severe environmental conditions of this area of Arizona, which gets extremely hot and is full of difficult terrain to maneuver through.
A CBP source said migrants often “choose to cross” off “the beaten path” and through the “most remote areas to avoid capture,” yet these areas are the most dangerous. Combined with extreme temperatures, many don’t survive the journey. The CBP source said that most migrants don’t “realize how much water needs to be consumed” to make it through the “harsh environment.”
About 49,000 migrants have been caught by the CBP this month in the Tuscon border sector. That number was around 18,500 this time last year. Over 300 migrants crossed into Arizona on Labor Day through various gates near Lukeville that were welded open and can’t be permanently shut anymore.
Americans have growing concerns about the border crisis, and most Republicans have been criticizing the policies of President Joe Biden, which they believe have exacerbated the problem since he took office in 2021.
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