Migrants, including families with young children, have been traversing the Arizona desert in large groups — generally an indication of the involvement of smugglers — amid dangerous temperatures that surpass 110 degrees each day in most areas of the region.
— The number of migrants crossing the southern border illegally, particularly across the inhospitable Arizona desert, has increased sharply after falling to a two-year low in June, despite record heat levels, government statistics obtained by CBS News show.
Reached for comment, Customs and Border Protection confirmed a "significant increase" in migrant crossings in the Arizona desert. It also acknowledged it has been holding some migrants outdoors near a station in Ajo since the facility "is not equipped to hold large numbers of migrants." The agency said the migrants have been held in shaded areas.
But even then, the heat can be dangerous and in some cases deadly, especially for children and the elderly,to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Water can be life-saving in these scorching temperatures, said Fernando Quiroz, who distributes water bottles, bananas and granola bars every morning in the busiest crossing sites near Yuma.
"We're talking about 110, 120 degree weather that we're seeing every single day," Quiroz told CBS News. "People perish seeking the American dream." In fiscal year 2022, Border Patrol recorded 853 migrant deaths, a record high that eclipsed the previous all-time high of 546 in 2021. The deadly pace has slowed slightly, but during the first nine months of current fiscal year 2023, Border Patrol reported over 330 migrant deaths, according to unpublished agency data obtained by CBS News. Federal fiscal years run from Oct. 1 to Sept 30.
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