PHOENIX, AZ — The number of illegal border crossings may have dropped since a peak late last year, still, remains of migrants are being found in remote parts of Arizona’s Sonoran Desert as extreme heat bears down.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that U.S. Border Patrol agents found three people dead, including a 16-year-old in the Ajo area in late June.
“After being promised safe passage into the country, they were abandoned by a smuggler who risked their lives for profit,” Border Patrol Tucson Sector Chief John Modlin posted to X.
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The three found were the latest remains found in southern Arizona. According to the nonprofit, Humane Borders, 57 human remains have been found in the desert so far this year. Last month, they recorded 14, up from three in May.
“We're reaching what I would consider the most deadly time of year here,” Chair Laurie Cantillo said. “All it takes is a sprained ankle or someone to fall behind from their group be left behind and it becomes a life and death situation.”
The organization works with medical examiners' offices to track the number of remains found in the desert and put out water at dozens of stations along the border for anyone in life-threatening situations.
Cantillo said Humane Borders delivers 42,000 gallons of water a year.
“A person's fate whether they're crossing legally or illegally should be judged by the courts not by dying a horrible death of dehydration and thirst,” Cantillo said. “The concern is that there might be more deaths over the summer over the next several months and that's why our work is so important.”
In the month following President Joe Biden’s executive order barring asylum claims between ports of entry, Cantillo said the organization has seen an uptick in water usage at their more remote stations.
“Since the executive order, consumption rates seem to be higher, and this is the concern that as more migrants see that there may not be a path to asylum by surrendering at the wall, unfortunately, the worry is that more of them will make the very dangerous choice of trying to cross on their own,” Cantillo said.
