This year's summer season set several historic records pushing unprecedented highs along the U.S. West Coast. Amid the heat wave, Mexican authorities urged migrants not to attempt border crossings back in July, as the risk of scorching temperatures could prove to be life-threatening from heatstroke and dehydration.
As a result of the heat, deaths near the border in New Mexico have significantly increased the last couple of years, according to a new piece by the Associated Press which found that 108 presumed migrants have been found dead near the border in 2024 so far, a similar number to the 2023 total (113), but both a sizeable rise from just nine deaths in 2020 and ten in 2019. In all, fatalities in the area have increasing tenfold compared to five years ago
