After several large migrant group crossings in Arizona, the dark nature of the U.S.-Mexico border is coming to light as migrants suffer at the hands of smugglers.
“Due to its remote and rugged terrain, large migrant groups crossing NW of Lukeville, AZ, often wait several hours before arriving at a processing center,” John R. Modlin, Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector said on Twitter. “Smugglers abandon men, women, and children once they cross the border, leaving them without food or water.”
Arizona has been thought of as a major player in the border situation, as its border city Yuma ranks third in border apprehensions, behind just El Paso and Del Rio, Texas. Yuma has a population of less than 100,000, but reportedly sees almost 6,000 migrants cross its border each week, the New York Post reported.
In separate incidents in December, a group of more than 300 migrants was found near Lukeville, Arizona, and agents found and arrested two armed smugglers. The groups of migrants came from 17 different countries, station KGUN9 reported.
According to a tweet by John R. Modlin, chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson Sector, migrants often do not know their hired smugglers and can find themselves transported by dangerous individuals.
In June 2022, over 50 migrants died in a tractor trailer in San Antonio after being left in the heat, the deadliest smuggling case in U.S. history. Those migrants paid their way to cross into the U.S. illegally, only to die from the neglect of their human smugglers, ABC News reported.
Over 850 migrants died along the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022, a record high. The number of migrant deaths has risen for two straight years, as the over 500 deaths recorded in 2021 was a record at the time, CBC News reported. These deaths also do not account for the number of deaths of migrants attempting to reach the U.S. border, as the U.S. only counts those who died on U.S. territory.
There were reportedly 1.7 million encounters at the border in 2021 and a record 2.3 million in 2022, Fox reported.
