In Arizona, border crossings down, but migrant deaths on rise
Source: Los Angeles Times
In Arizona, border crossings down, but migrant deaths on rise
By Cindy Carcamo
June 5, 2013, 3:12 p.m.
TUCSON — The numbers of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally into this country are at historical lows, but a report released Wednesday shows that the death rates among these migrants are at an all-time high in the southern Arizona desert.
The deaths have likely increased because those who still choose to cross the border illegally are traveling for longer periods of time — mostly on foot — through more remote areas to avoid detection by border enforcement officials, suggest data collected by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner.
The country is dealing with a relatively new mass death phenomenon, said Raquel Rubio-Goldsmith, an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona and co-author of the report.
“In a sense, we are dealing with a disaster,” she added.
One of the most striking findings is that Central Americans are increasingly making up a larger portion of the deaths in the Tucson area, reflecting an overall trend of greater apprehensions of this population by U.S. Border Patrol officials.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-border-immigrant-deaths-20130605,0,6018939.story
