Spike in Migrant Deaths Near U.S.-Mexico Border Attributed to Policy Changes and Smuggling Practices.
SUNLAND PARK, N.M. — For the past two summers, Laura Mae Williams has made frequent trips to the U.S.-Mexico border as a body recovery specialist for the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office. She often arrives for one body and discovers that Border Patrol has found additional remains nearby.
“It’s not uncommon for me to come down for one body that’s been found, and then Border Patrol finds another one or maybe even two additional ones in different locations,” Williams noted.
In the past, deaths among migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the desert near El Paso, Texas, were rare. The Medical Investigator’s Office typically recovered only a handful of bodies each year. However, this year, the office has already recovered 121 sets of remains, surpassing last year’s record of 116. This marks an increase of more than thirteenfold compared to five years ago.
The area experiencing this alarming rise in deaths is relatively small, surrounded by highways and the suburban outskirts of El Paso. Many migrants have died just yards away from residential areas and paved roads.
Most fatalities are attributed to extreme heat. Despite its small size, the desert often sees summer temperatures soar into the triple digits, with sand temperatures occasionally reaching as high as 150 degrees.
“In those extreme conditions, even if you’re well-hydrated and well-fed, it’s going to wear on the body,” Williams explained. Unfortunately, many migrants are not adequately hydrated or nourished, having spent days in smugglers’ safe houses under poor conditions.
Advocates, first responders, and elected officials in New Mexico believe that the increase in deaths is largely linked to Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star. This operation has tightened border security in El Paso, causing smugglers to shift their routes further west into New Mexico.
Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s press secretary, pointed to the federal government for responsibility, stating, “Operation Lone Star helps deter illegal crossings, redirecting migrants to use one of the 29 international bridges on the Texas-Mexico border where they can safely and legally cross,” in a statement to NBC News.
The pattern of increased migrant deaths aligns with historical trends. Typically, after enforcement measures push smuggling routes away from urban areas, more migrants die in remote and hazardous conditions.
Officials from the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office also hold smugglers accountable for these tragedies. They report that smugglers often abandon migrants who lag behind, usually after taking their phones.
“It raises an important question,” remarked Dr. Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner at the Medical Investigator’s Office, which classifies these deaths as accidental. “If you leave a person in the middle of the desert to die, why is this not homicide by neglect?”
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