The New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office has seen a significant increase in the number of bodies recovered near the U.S.-Mexico border in the desert just west of El Paso, Texas. Despite it historically being rare for migrants to die in this area, the office has recovered 121 sets of remains so far this year, breaking last year’s record of 116. The spike in deaths is largely attributed to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, which pushed smugglers to attempt routes in New Mexico after hardening the border in El Paso. The extreme desert conditions, with temperatures reaching well into the triple digits and sand temperatures as high as 150 degrees, are primarily heat-related. Many migrants who attempt the journey are not well-hydrated or well-fed, having spent days in poor conditions in smugglers’ safe houses. New Mexico officials also blame smugglers for the deaths, as they often abandon people who fall behind after taking their phones. The deaths fit a historical pattern of migrants dying in greater numbers when enforcement efforts push smuggling routes into more remote and dangerous crossings. The New Mexico Medical Investigator’s Office marks the deaths as accidental, but questions why leaving a person in the middle of the desert to die is not considered homicide by neglect.
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