Three dead after crossing border in Arizona, CBP warns of heat risk

Three people crossing the border from Mexico into the United States died as a result of the high summer temperatures.

United States Customs and Border Protection announced on Friday that three Mexican migrants were found dead after a search and rescue mission near Ajo, Arizona, by federal border authorities on Wednesday morning. The border law enforcement agency explained that human smugglers routinely take advantage of those seeking to come to the U.S.

“CBP’s message for anyone who is thinking of soliciting the services of smuggling organizations to enter the United States illegally along the Southern border is simple: don’t do it”, Tucson Sector Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Justin De La Torre said in a. statement on Friday. The Tucson Sector is one of the nation's busiest, with over 400,000 encounters this fiscal year so far.

“As is evidenced by this case, when migrants cross the border illegally, they put their lives in peril. The terrain along the border is extreme, the relentless summer heat is severe, and remote areas where smugglers bring migrants is unforgiving. Far too many people who made the decision to place their lives into the hands of the criminal organizations have died of dehydration, and heat stroke,” he added.

According to the news release, Pima County Medical Examiners took in the bodies, and the Mexican Consulate was informed of the situation.

In Ajo, which is located in the arid Sonoran Desert along with many other parts of Arizona, the temperature ranged from the high 80s to over 110 last week, according to AccuWeather. Heat-related health issues for migrants are not uncommon along the southern border in summer, as CBP dealt with four deaths in one weekend in El Paso, it announced earlier in June.