In 2021, 557 migrants deaths were recorded in the U.S-Mexico border.

The U.S. Border Patrol has recorded the highest migrant deaths on the U.S. – Mexican border this year. The number of deaths has increased from 254 deaths in 2020 and 300 deaths in 2019, totaling to about 557 deaths in 2021. 

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, many of the deaths are linked to heat exposure and the dangerous terrain they must endure to arrive in the U.S.

The reported deaths by U.S. Border Patrol are based on bodies discovered by agents or involved in emergency responses. These reports do not represent the correct number of migrant deaths as state and local agencies recover bodies without the involvement of U.S. Border Patrol. 

“By and large, what ends up happening is people getting lost, people not understanding the harshness of the environment and how dangerous it is and how quickly somebody can get dehydrated, how quickly somebody can get lost,” said a former Customs and Border Protection official.

Nearly 1.66 million arrests have been made for unlawful crossing on the U.S. -Mexico border in 2021, making it the highest annual number of arrests on record. 

Former Customs and Border Protection official states that the number of rescues has doubled from 2020, the number of rescues were increasing in June of 2021, as a result of smuggling organizations abandoning migrants in dangerous locations. 

CNN