Fewer Migrants Are Crossing Mexico’s Northern Border, But More Are Dying Daniel Gonzalez - The Republic
go to original July 10, 2017

U.S. Border Patrol Agent Daniel Hernandez discusses the dangers of the desert for migrants who cross illegally from Mexico to the U.S., during a walk near the border in Nogales. (David Wallace/azcentral.com)

Perched on a hilltop, Border Patrol Agent Daniel Hernandez scanned the vast sun-baked desert below through a set of binoculars.

His dark hair glistened with sweat. The thermometer on his truck registered 104 degrees. Suddenly, his portable radio crackled to life.

A sensor had detected human movement near Charlie Bell Pass, the voice on the radio said, about 15 miles southwest of Hernandez's location. A Department of Homeland Security helicopter had swooped in to investigate. Two men in camouflage, likely undocumented migrants, were spotted headed south carrying backpacks and water jugs.

Soon Hernandez was barreling through the desert on a rough dirt road deep into the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge to find the two men.

It's Hernandez's job to catch people trying to enter the country illegally. But the searing summer heat added to the urgency.

Every summer, hundreds of migrants die crossing the Southwest border. But nowhere is crossing more deadly than Arizona's west desert. And already the number of dead migrants found this year in southern Arizona is way up.

Read the rest at AZCentral

Related: Border Patrol, Mexico 911 Operators Work to Save Ill, Injured Migrants Who Cross Border (Cronkite News)

Related: Drones, Self-Driving Bots with AI May Help Secure US Borders (PTI)

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