Cronkite News reports that border crosser deaths are up this year from 2012:
As of Sept. 11, 146 bodies had been found, up from 125 through that date in 2012, Dr. Gregory Hess said.
His office reported 29 deaths in June and 36 in July, though he said deaths decreased during cooler weather in August.
“The summertime is the busiest for us in terms of undocumented border crosser deaths in the desert,” he said.
Hess said he can’t pinpoint the reasons for this year’s increase, but he noted that June was particularly hot. He noted that in many cases his office can’t prove that dehydration or heat was the cause of death, though they may be suspected.
“It’s the absence of a logical explanation and a story that essentially fits with that environmental exposure,” he said.
Since 2000, the most deaths of border crossers in a calendar year in Pima County was 225 in 2010.
Hess said that aside from the weather, a person’s physical condition prior to crossing the border contributes to what he or she is able to endure.
According to the National Foundation for American Policy, even though the number of those crossing the border illegally has diminished the number of deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border increased by 27 percent in fiscal 2012.
Tighter enforcement in other sectors has pushed many border crossers to the rugged desert near Tucson, driving up deaths in Pima County in recent years.
This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2013.
Well, I would recommend 1. NOT crossing during the warmer months. 2. Making Marijuana legal. 3. More drones on the border.
We have increased the Border Patrol numbers by 63%, why can’t the BP get out into the “rugged desert” and save some lives?
Good!!! Fewer illegals making it into the country!!! They should stay where they are & not commit the crime of coming here illegally!!! I have no sympathy for them!!!
Perhaps if these criminals actually followed our immigration laws, instead of thinking our laws do not apply to them, this would not be n issue. We should not allow any illegal aliens to be granted any amnesty, after all it is a fact that Mexico demands that we do so, while treating their illegal aliens in a draconian manner.
Perhaps if we changed our immigration laws so that we weren’t criminalizing our neighbors for visiting us, then the problem would go away.
Quaking’s comment that makes sense so far on this subject. Some of the other unsympathetic comments embarrass me. History tells us that people, have been traversing this area since people inhabited what is now the southwest and Mexico. Generally these people want to work at jobs our our citizens prefer not to do. Would that roof on your house be there without migrant labor? How about that tomato on your greasy hamburger? When was the last time you sat down with a gringo fruit or vegetable harvester? Statistics tell us that very few migrant travelers are drug mules. The drug issue is a different conversation. Most of the migrants simply are looking for work, and many wish to eventually return to their home countries. The fact is our economy depends on these workers being in our country. Otherwise you would not afford to fix that leaky roof, or eat that tomato. To have no sympathy for a fellow human being is down right hateful and frightening. I hope your car never breaks down while driving through the desert…karma may just put all the humanitarians who would help you in another location that day.
If they only just visited instead of moving into the spare bedroom.
ronko, the cost of the tomato is 3% farm labor. We could triple wages and only increase the retail cost by about 12 cents. Who harvested tomatos before illegals?
For the leaky roof, if I pay an American worker, it may cost a little more, but that money I pay goes back into the local economy and I have a middle class neighbor. The American worker has health insurance, workers’ comp, etc. For the illegal worker, I still pay, just indirectly (like if I try to get into the ER). And with illegal workers, more money goes into the owners’/capitalists pocket causing maldistribution of wealth. Aren’t we against that?