More than 100 people died near the New Mexico border in 2024 – a tenfold increase in two years

Migrants sit by the iron fence waiting to be processed by the US border patrol near the Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the US-Mexico border on 13 June. Photograph: VCG/Getty Images

Ten times as many migrants died in New Mexico near the US-Mexico border in each of the last two years compared with just five years ago.

During the first eight months of 2024, the bodies of 108 presumed migrants, mostly from Mexico and Central America, were found near the border in New Mexico, according to the most recent data. Many of the bodies were discovered less than 10 miles (16km) from El Paso.