NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – With temperatures getting lower, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is urging migrants to not cross the southern border. The El Paso sector said there have 23 migrant deaths so far from dangerous freezing conditions.
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It’s a warning for migrants trying to enter the United States through the New Mexico and southwest Texas border. U.S. Border Patrol within the El Paso sector said 23 migrants died in the last four months from dangerous conditions. “Winter months bring freezing temperatures, migrants attempting to cross the border illegally, they face life-threatening conditions,” said Claudio Herrera, spokesperson for U.S. Border Patrol, El Paso sector.
Just last year, Border Patrol rescued 980 migrants suffering from frostbite and hypothermia. Agent Herrera said the majority are from warmer southern countries and so far, this year they have saved 177 migrants. “They don’t have this type of temperatures. They’re not usedto them and of course, multiple times they are not wearing the proper clothes to be walking in the desert and stuff like that,” said Herrera.