Laura Mae Williams, who recovers bodies for the New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office, has had to visit the U.S.-Mexico borderlands multiple times a week in the past two summers due to the increasing number of migrant deaths in the area. The Medical Investigator’s Office used to recover only a few bodies a year, but this year they have already found 121 sets of remains, a thirteenfold increase from five years ago. Most of the deaths are heat-related, as the area reaches extreme temperatures in the summer. The spike in deaths is largely attributed to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which has pushed smugglers to attempt routes west of El Paso in New Mexico. Abbott’s press secretary blamed the federal government for the deaths, stating that the operation helps deter illegal crossings.
First responders, elected officials, and advocates in New Mexico blame smugglers for the deaths, as they often abandon migrants who fall behind in dangerous conditions. Dr. Heather Jarrell, the chief medical examiner at the Medical Investigator’s Office, questions why leaving a person to die in the desert is not considered homicide by neglect. The trend of migrants dying in greater numbers after enforcement efforts push smuggling routes into more remote and dangerous areas is a historical pattern. The deaths are occurring close to suburban subdivisions and paved roads, highlighting the dangers faced by migrants crossing the border in extreme conditions.
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