Nearly 800 migrants have died trying to cross the border in the past fiscal year, a new record high that highlights the dangerous conditions many border crossers face, Customs and Border Protection officials tell Fox News.
Multiple mass casualty events resulting from human trafficking have contributed to the surge in migrant deaths.
In June, 53 migrants were found dead in the back of a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio. Earlier this month, 13 migrants died trying to cross the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas.
The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration named the US-Mexico border the deadliest migration land route in the world earlier this year.
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Since last October, when the fiscal year began, at least 782 migrants have died trying to cross the border, including 30 so far in September, CBP officials tell Fox News.
More than two million migrant encounters have occurred so far this fiscal year, including 208,000 just last month, which marks a 317% increase over last August 2020 and a 233% increase over August 2019.
Despite the record number of border crossings, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed last week that the “border is secure,” drawing sharp criticism from those who view the situation as out of control.
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Multiple buses full of dozens of migrants arrived this week at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., where Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff live.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has been bussing migrants to the nation’s capital, Chicago, and New York City in recent months. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew about 50 migrants to Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts this week.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called their actions an “illegal stunt” this week, while the Republican governors claim they are brining light to a crisis that the Biden administration has swept under the rug.
