Migrants are dying in U.S. desert due to extreme heat and no water

In recent months, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 60 migrant deaths due to extreme heat and dehydration. The real number can be higher because migrants are often abandoned by human traffickers without water. 

The El Paso Sector has witnessed a large number of migrant deaths because of heat. This can be dangerous for migrants who often cross the border illegally. 

Recently, Daniel Medrano, a firefighter, found the dead body of a migrant woman in the barren outskirts of Sunland Park, New Mexico. The migrant woman had a water bottle at arm’s length. Daniel Medrano said that many migrants had died because of the scorching heat while entering the United States.

Daniel Medrano, who is the fire chief for Sunland Park, a city on the Mexico border next to El Paso, admitted that many migrants died in the desert.

What happened to migrants?

Many migrants cross the border illegally. The El Paso Sector is the main area for migrant crossings into the U.S. southwest. Human traffickers often take money from the migrants and abandon them without water. 

Without water, migrants suffer in extreme heat. Fernando Garcia, head of the Border Network for Human Rights in El Paso, said that more migrants were dying because of climate change and extreme weather events. Fernando Garcia said, “Now it’s going to be even worse because of the weather … it’s an additional traumatic factor.”

On Friday, the United States authorities said that a 29 year old migrant woman died in a waiting area between two border walls near the San Ysidro border crossing after a medical emergency. 

Earlier this month, two Mexican migrants were shot to death on the Mexican side of the border with the United States.

World’s deadliest land migration route

Last month, the United Nations declared the U.S.-Mexico border as the world’s deadliest land migration route. UN published a report, titled “US-Mexico border, ‘world’s deadliest’ overland migration route: IOM” to highlight the plight of the migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

Last year, around 1,457 migrant deaths and disappearances were recorded across the United States.