After El Paso joined Abbott’s border crackdown, the number of dead migrants in the New Mexico desert surged

Doña Ana County Sheriff Deputy N. Al-Abayad, left, and Detective Alan Barbosa transport a body bag containing the bones of a migrant, first found by volunteers with Battalion Search and Rescue, on May 3, 2025. The discovery of migrant bodies in the desert has spiked since El Paso joined Texas’ Operation Lone Star. (Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune)

Editor’s note: This story includes images of skeletal human remains found by volunteers in the desert.

This article is co-published and co-reported with the Source New Mexico, an independent, nonprofit newsroom and affiliate of States Newsroom.