The deaths of illegal aliens in the United States are up 17 percent over the same period in 2016.
That’s according to a recent report from a United Nations group that monitors global migration states. The increase comes despite a nearly 50 percent drop of illegal border crossings.
The International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Global Migration Data Analysis Centre reports 232 illegal immigrants died during the first 7 months of 2017, making it a 17 percent increase over the same period in 2016, when only 204 illegal immigrants died in the U.S.
Source: IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, 2017
Missing Migrants Project (MMP) spokesperson Julia Black says:
“Fifty bodies were recorded as discovered in July, the most recorded in any month so far this year. Nine were recorded in various locations along the Río Grande; ten in a truck in San Antonio, Texas; and 16 in other locations in Texas.”
On July 27, 5 bodies of illegal immigrants – including 2 teenagers – trying to cross the swollen Rio Grande River in El Paso, Texas, died in a couple of days. U.S. Border Patrol spokesman Joe Romero told Breitbart Texas:
“We average only three or four deaths a year. This is five in less than one week. These deaths occurring in the river itself is also unusual. Most drownings occur in the American canal where the current is much swifter. The combination of monsoon season and the opening flood gates for irrigation created ‘a perfect storm of danger’ for those seeking to cross.”
Breitbart Texas reports that a truck driver is now facing charges in San Antonio after ten illegal aliens died in his trailer after being locked in the summer heat without water or air conditioning. Police initially found 8 bodies in the trailer, but 2 other people died after being transported to a hospital. Between 120 and 200 illegal aliens were packed into the refrigerated trailer, but the cooling unit, however, did not function or was not turned on.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick blames the deaths on sanctuary cities that act as a magnet for illegal immigrants saying:
“The July 23 tragedy is why I made passing Senate Bill 4 to ban sanctuary cities — which is now law — a top priority. Sanctuary cities entice people to believe they can come to America and Texas and live outside the law. Sanctuary cities also enable human smugglers and cartels.”
In the first 7 months of this year, officials in Brooks County, Texas, found 32 bodies in the arid ranches located 80 to 100 miles north of the Mexican border, which represents another 14 percent of the total national number of deaths. Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez told Breitbart Texas:
“These callous human smugglers could care less about the lives of the people they have been paid to smuggle around the Border Patrol’s checkpoint in Falfurrias. They lie to their people about the dangers of the hike, provide them with little food and water, and then abandon them if they can’t keep up for any reason.”
One disturbing number in the June border apprehension report is a major increase in the arrests of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) and Family Unit Aliens (FMUA). Family unit apprehensions went up 47 percent over the previous month while unaccompanied minor apprehensions went up 32.5 percent.
The MMP report can be illustrated by these two graphs showing the numbers of apprehensions and deaths during the first 6 months of 2016 and 2017.
The first chart shows the historic drop in border apprehensions since President Donald Trump took office in January, while the second chart does not show a corresponding decrease in the number of deaths of illegal immigrants. For all but one month of 2017, deaths were higher than the same months in the prior year.
Officials say the actual number of deaths could be a lot higher as deaths in the border regions of southern Arizona and South Texas often go unreported and are not discovered until a body is accidentally found at a later date.