Human smugglers have been taking advantage of record heat at the southern border to sneak migrants into the US, believing that there will be fewer border officers to stop them, according to officials.
A record number of dead migrants have been recovered at the border as temperatures soared above 100 degrees for 36 consecutive days, the US Border Patrol said.
“We are currently recording a significant number of migrant deaths in New Mexico due to the desert terrain and extreme heat,” the agency told the Border Report.
In the summer, smugglers at the border normally avoid the hottest hours of the day to move illegal immigrants into the US as conditions are considered too dangerous — and opt instead to cross in the cover of night when temperatures are more bearable, law enforcement sources tell The Post.
“We are seeing a lot of people crossing during the hottest part of the day, which is something we normally had not seen before,” Border Patrol Agent Andy Buckert explained.
The US Border Patrol has placed rescue beacons in the most remote parts of the desert in west Texas and southern New Mexico. US Border Patrol“That ends up being a very dangerous thing.”
So far, 69 bodies have been recovered from the desert west of Texas’ sixth-largest city this fiscal year. The Border Patrol suspects the remains are migrants who died of heat exhaustion.
“One time the paramedics got there, and the temperature was still 107,” Buckert told the Border Report of a migrant’s body temperature.
Spanish and English instructions direct migrants in danger to push a button to summon help. US Border Patrol“One time the temperature was so high, they couldn’t get a reading.”
Across the entire southern border, 96 bodies have been recovered since October. The number of dead this year far outpaces the 29 bodies discovered in 2022.
As temperatures and deaths soar, immigration officials blame money-hungry cartels, which often underplay the dangers of crossing the border to desperate migrants.
El Paso, Texas, saw daily highs of more than 100 degrees for 36 straight days. US Border Patrol
A record number of dead migrants have been recovered at the border as temperatures soared, according to the US Border Patrol. El Paso Times-USA TODAY NETWORK/Sipa USA“What we are finding is they have been held in stash houses on the Mexican side; they don’t get enough water; they don’t get enough food,” Buckert revealed.
“When they cross the border, they are already ‘gased out.’ They don’t have the energy to run and the smuggler is telling them, ‘Run! Run! The highway is not that far.’ They end up losing their (bearings), they get separated from the group, they end up overheating and dying in situations like that.”
Deaths might be higher if not for the aid and rescues provided by border agents — numbering 330 this year.
Rescue beacons have also been installed in this area of the border where migrants needing help can summon the Border Patrol by simply pushing a button.
