So far this fiscal year (since October 2021) 748 immigrants have died trying to cross the southern border, CNN reported Thursday. The figure is higher than the 557 deaths recorded at the border last year.
With this new record, the number of migrants killed exceeded last year's total by more than 200 people. CNN cites sources from within the Department of Homeland Security in obtaining this data.
The figures do not record all deaths, because other state and local agencies may recover bodies without Border Patrol involvement, so the exact number of deaths is probably higher.
Border crisis
A week ago nine people died attempting to cross the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas. The fatal outcome occurred just as the water level had risen more than two feet (about 60 centimeters) due to heavy rains from throughout the week. In addition, 53 illegal immigrants were detained while trying to enter the country through the same river. 37 of them had to be rescued in the middle of the crossing.
The U.S. -Mexico border is the deadliest land crossing in the world. This is the conclusion of the latest report published by the United Nations International Organization for Migration. In 2021, more than 1,238 lives were lost while migrating to the Americas. At least 728 of these deaths occurred at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing.
Border Patrol apprehended more than 181,000 immigrants who crossed the southern border illegally in August, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. This record is slightly lower than in August 2021 when the number of illegals caught was 196,514, but is still much higher than the 47,283 illegals who were arrested at the Mexican border in 2020.
In total, more than 1,930,000 illegal migrants have been apprehended so far this year.
