Migrants Seeking to Cross Southern US Border Face Dangerous Heat

Record numbers of migrants and extreme heat are resulting in many deaths among immigrants trying to cross the southern U.S. border.

The nonprofit group Humane¹ Borders says that in June, the remains² of 43 people were found in Arizona's Sonoran Desert. The desert is just north of the U.S. border with Mexico.

The group follows the recovery of bodies in one area along the 3,145-kilometer border. It studies data from local coroner's offices to find out how many migrants have died.

Brad Jones is a volunteer with Humane Borders. He said, "What is happening is climate change is real, and the temperatures have been getting hotter and the weather itself is more volatile³."

The group said there has been an increase in the number of migrants trying to cross the border in the remote western desert. Migrants cannot get emergency aid there.

The National Weather Service reported that June was the hottest month on record in the Phoenix⁴ and Tucson areas of Arizona. Temperatures often reached 43 degrees Celsius⁵.

Jones said the number of migrant deaths in June was sad but not unusual.

"There's been a migrant death crisis on our border right at your doorstep for 20 years. And in the Arizona-Mexico borderlands itself, nearly 4,000 people have lost their lives over the last 20 years," he said.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, CBP, spokesperson said that the land and desert climate along the border is extreme. The official said that people thinking of crossing the border are putting their own lives in danger.

"CBP's message for anyone who is thinking of entering the United States illegally along the Southern border is simple: don't do it," the spokesperson wrote in an email to VOA.

There have always been dangers in the border area. Drowning, for example, is a danger in the Rio Grande River. But researchers have seen a rise in migrant deaths caused by heat.

Sam Chambers⁶ is a scientist at The University of Arizona's Binational Migration⁷ Institute. He said heat is to blame for most migrant deaths recorded by the Pima County medical examiner's office in Arizona.

Chambers said U.S. border enforcement has caused migrants to walk through more dangerous and remote areas of the Sonoran Desert. He said people are unlikely to have enough water, even in cooler areas of the border. "They have perspired⁹ all the water and they can only carry so much," he said.

Chambers' research suggests that migrants who died were mostly male and usually between 20 and 49 years old. About 80 percent were from Mexico.

Humanitarian¹⁰ groups working along the border believe more migrants have died than have been reported. They say some bodies have never been found.

Border Angels is a nonprofit group in San Diego, California, that supports more than 15 shelters in Tijuana, Mexico. It estimates that over the past 27 years, more than 11,000 migrants have died in their attempt to cross the southern border.

Water drop programs

Border Angels operates what is called a water drop program. For 20 years, volunteers have been leaving water along desert trails used by migrants entering the country illegally.

In 2020, they placed more than 4,000 liters of water with messages saying, "I wish you luck" in Spanish.

Humane Borders has its own water program. Jones said it can be dangerous giving out water because there are several groups that try to stop supplies from being given to migrants.

If Humane Borders' volunteers find human remains during their water drop runs, Jones said, they immediately contact the U.S. Border Patrol.

Looking at data for bodies found in the month of June, Jones said most died within the last 30 days.

"These are real, living, breathing people who in May were alive and, by the end of June, were not alive anymore," he said.

Words in This Story

coroner — n. a public official whose job is to find out the cause of death when people die in ways that are not natural

volatile — adj. likely to change in an extreme or sudden way

remote — adj. far away from other people, houses, cities or civilization

perspire⁸ —v. to produce a clear liquid from your skin when you are hot or nervous; sweat

1 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 volatile   

adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质

参考例句：

• With the markets being so volatile,investments are at great risk.由于市场那么变化不定，投资冒着很大的风险。
• His character was weak and volatile.他这个人意志薄弱，喜怒无常。

4 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

5 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

6 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

7 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

8 perspire   

vi.出汗，流汗

参考例句：

• He began to perspire heavily.他开始大量出汗。
• You perspire a lot when you are eating.你在吃饭的时候流汗很多。

9 perspired   

v.出汗，流汗( perspire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The air became cooler but Feliks perspired all the same. 空气凉爽了，但费利克斯仍然浑身出汗。 来自辞典例句
• Sit down, you look perspired. 坐下，看你满头是汗。 来自辞典例句

10 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。