More migrants are dying along the US-Mexico border, but it's hard to say how big the problem actually is

A Spanish-language sign warns migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border against explsing themselves to the dangerous elements in the desert. David Howells/Corbis via Getty Images

At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, according to the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency that monitors migration.

The figure marks an all-time annual high since the U.S. government began reporting U.S.-Mexico border deaths in 1998.