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Ten times as many migrants died in New Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border<\/a><\/span> in each of the last two years compared with just five years ago as smuggling gangs steer them \u2014 exhausted, dehydrated and malnourished \u2014 mostly into the hot desert, canyons or mountains west of El Paso, Texas.<\/p>\n During the first eight months of 2024, the bodies of 108 presumed migrants mostly from Mexico and Central America were found near the border in New Mexico and often less than 10 miles (6 kilometers) from El Paso, according to the most recent data. The remains of 113 presumed migrants were found in New Mexico in 2023, compared with nine in 2020 and 10 in 2019.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear exactly why more migrants are being found dead in that area, but many experts say smugglers<\/a><\/span> are treating migrants more harshly and bringing them on paths that could be more dangerous in extreme summer temperatures.<\/p>\n The influx has taxed the University of New Mexico\u2019s Office of the Medical Investigator, which identifies the dead and conducts autopsies that almost always show the cause as heat-related.<\/p>\n \u201cOur reaction was sadness, horror and surprise because it had been very consistently low for as long as anyone can remember,\u201d said Heather Edgar, a forensic anthropologist with the office.<\/p>\n Serving the entire state, the office over two years has added deputy medical investigators to handle the extra deaths on top of the usual 2,500 forensic cases.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d always had three deputies down in that area, and I think we have nine or 10 now,\u201d Edgar said of New Mexico\u2019s eastern migration corridor.<\/p>\n Immigration<\/a><\/span> and border security are among voters\u2019 top concerns heading into the Nov. 5 presidential contest, but the candidates<\/a><\/span> have focused on keeping migrants out of the U.S. and deporting those already here.<\/p>\n The increase in deaths is a humanitarian concern<\/a><\/span> for advocates as smugglers guide migrants into New Mexico through fencing gaps at the border city of Sunland Park and over low-lying barriers west of the nearby Santa Teresa Port of Entry.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are dying close to urban areas, in some cases just 1,000 feet from roads,\u201d noted Adam Isacson, an analyst for the nongovernmental Washington Office on Latin America. He said water stations, improved telecommunications and more rescue efforts could help.<\/p>\n New Mexico officials are targeting human-smuggling networks, recently arresting 16 people and rescuing 91 trafficking victims. U.S. Customs and Border Protection added a surveillance blimp to monitor the migration corridor near its office in Santa Teresa, in New Mexico\u2019s Do\u00f1a Ana County. Movable 33-foot (10-meter) towers use radar to scan the area.<\/p>\n U.S. officials in recent years have added 30 more push-button beacons that summon emergency medical workers along remote stretches of the border at New Mexico and western Texas. They have also set up more than 500 placards with location coordinates and instructions to call 911 for help.<\/p>\n This summer, the Border Patrol expanded search and rescue efforts, dispatching more patrols with medical specialists and surveillance equipment. The agency moved some beacons closer to the border, where more migrants have been found dead or in distress.<\/p>\n Border Patrol says it rescued nearly 1,000 migrants near the U.S. border in New Mexico and western Texas over the past 12 months \u2014 up from about 600 the previous 12 months.<\/p>\n Dylan Corbett, executive director of the faith-based Hope Border Institute in El Paso, said 10-member church teams recently started dropping water bottles for migrants in the deadly New Mexico corridor alongside fluttering blue flags.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of the problem is that organized crime has become very systematic in the area,\u201d Corbett said of the increased deaths. He also blamed heightened border enforcement<\/a><\/span> in Texas and new U.S. asylum restrictions<\/a><\/span> that President Joe Biden<\/a><\/span> introduced in June and tightened<\/a><\/span> last month.<\/p>\n New Mexico\u2019s rising deaths come as human-caused climate change<\/a><\/span> increases the likelihood of heat waves. This year, the El Paso area had its hottest June ever, with an average temperature of 89.4 degrees Fahrenheit (31.8 Celsius). June 12 and 13 saw daily record highs of 109 F (42.7 C).<\/p>\n Those high temperatures can be deadly for people who have been on strenuous journeys. Some smugglers lead migrants on longer routes into gullies or by the towering Mount Cristo Rey statue of Jesus Christ that casts a shadow over neighboring Mexico.<\/p>\n Deputy Chief Border Patrol Agent Juan Bernal of the El Paso Sector said migrants are weak when they arrive at the border after weeks or months without adequate food and water in houses smugglers keep in Mexico.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re expected to walk, sometimes for hours or days, to get to their destination where they\u2019re going to be picked up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The deaths have continued even as migration has fallen along the entire border following Biden\u2019s major asylum restrictions.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n