SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico (Border Report) – Fifty-five migrants have lost their lives since Oct. 1 in El Paso and Southern New Mexico, including some who got lost in the desert and perished of heat-related illnesses.
The U.S. Border Patrol wants to prevent further deaths amid 12 consecutive days of triple-digit heat in the region. That’s why they are putting videos in English and Spanish on the internet and airing public service outreach on television to warn migrants of the danger posed by the heat.
“We want the migrants to be aware of what is going on and not become another statistic,” said Fidel Baca, a Border Patrol spokesman in El Paso. “We don’t want them to attempt to enter the U.S. illegally by putting their lives at risk, particularly in this extreme heat. We have already rescued 220 people and located 55 dead.”
Most of the deceased have perished while trying to avoid detection – falling in ravines on Mount Cristo Rey, trying to swim across canals or getting lost in the desert after coming down from the border wall.
Baca said migrants in distress should not hesitate to call on the Border Patrol for help. The agency has placed 17 “rescue” beacons in isolated areas so that migrants can push a button and summon assistance, and placards with unique identifiers on the border wall and other places so the migrants can communicate their location to first responders.
The Mexican drug cartels that often control migrant smuggling south of the border often play a role in migrant endangerment, as foreign nationals are left on their own once being helped over the border wall and get lost in the 1.5-mile stretch of desert between the wall and busy New Mexico Highway 273. The smugglers rarely provide their customers sufficient water to cross the desert, agents and security experts have told Border Report.
Mount Cristo Rey also poses a challenge for the migrants. “Part of it is in Mexico and part of it is in the U.S. It’s not just the heat, but also the terrain: people tend to fall at night and we have to effect a rescue,” Baca said.
The Border Patrol and local law enforcement agencies like the Sunland Park Fire Department often team up to carry out rescues. However, other mountainous terrains in the sector that stretches from Hudspeth County on the east and the New Mexico-Arizona border on the west aren’t near cities or towns with the rescue capabilities of Sunland Park. That is one more reason for migrants not to put their lives at risk.
Baca said border agents are trained to work under extreme heat conditions and provided equipment and resources to avoid health issues. That includes coolers with bottles of water that they will readily avail to any migrant they encounter in the desert.
“Many of our agents are emergency medical technicians and paramedics who can render first aid in rural areas,” Baca said. “We would prefer that migrants not risk their lives, but if they are already here and they are in trouble, please reach out to our agents. They will help you.”
