Deaths on Border This Year Have Risen by Nearly 200 from Last Year’s Record High; Nearly 750 Migrants Have Died Crossing the Border in Fiscal Year to Set Grim Record

CNN’s Alvarez: Deaths on Border This Year Have Risen by Nearly 200 from Last Year’s Record High:

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” CNN Reporter Priscilla Alvarez reported that, according to an official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there have been 748 deaths along the U.S. southern border this fiscal year, an increase from the record 557 deaths recorded last fiscal year.

Alvarez stated, “This might be the deadliest year, the deadliest fiscal year. A Homeland Security official now tells me that, so far this fiscal year, there have been 748 deaths along the southwest border, and that is still with a month to go in the fiscal year. Now, to compare, last fiscal year, there [were] 557 deaths and 247 deaths in fiscal year 2020. Now, remember, migrants often pass through treacherous terrain, dangerous waters, and sometimes fall off the border barrier when crossing from Mexico to the United States. And that really came into focus last week when eight bodies were recovered from the Rio Grande in what was a mass drowning incident. Now, immigrant advocates say that it is U.S. border policies that sometimes lead migrants to take even riskier journeys, but U.S. Customs and Border Protection…has been grappling with a record number of migrants, and they pointed me to smugglers as some of those taking advantage of migrants, saying, ‘Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in remote and dangerous areas, leading to a rise in the number of rescues but also tragically a rise in the number of deaths.'” --->WATCH THE INTERVIEW HERE

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Nearly 750 migrants have died crossing the border in fiscal year to set grim record:

Nearly 750 migrants have died while attempting to make the perilous journey across the US’s southern border this fiscal year — a grim new record that surpasses last year’s total by more than 200 people, according to Department of Homeland Security data.

With still a month to go in the current fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1., there have been 748 confirmed deaths among people crossing the southern border — a striking increase from the 557 deaths recorded in 2021 as crossings have surged over the past year, DHS officials told CNN.

The number of actual deaths is likely higher, as other local agencies often recover bodies without involvement from US Customs and Border Patrol, CNN reported.

Just last week, nine migrants drowned while attempting to cross the rain-swollen Rio Grande on the Texas border, prompting CBP officials to plead with potential migrants not to make the dangerous journey. --->READ MORE HERE

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