Report: U.S.Government Significantly Undercounting Migrant Deaths at the Border, Claims Organization

A nonprofit organization claims that the U.S. government is vastly undercounting the deaths of migrants seeking to enter the country, attributing this to insufficient follow-up with hospitals, local police and medical examiners after border agents encounter injured people or corpses.

Concretely, Arizona-based No More Deaths published research showing two to four times as many deaths as those reported by the government in West Texas and Southern New Mexico over several years (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020).

Among the main causes of death were dehydration or hypothermia (depending on the season), falls from mountains or the border wall, drownings, being struck by motor vehicles and injuries in the context of law-enforcement chases. This last category accounts for at least 35 deaths in the region, the report added.

Another part of the document shows that half of the deaths within El Paso city limits were a result of drowning, while more than 100 people died in the desert between Sunland Park and Hidalgo and Luna counties in New Mexico.

Most of the deceased were Mexican or Guatemalan. The former face higher chances of being rejected when requesting asylum, leading them to avoid ports of entry, said Fernando Garcia, executive director of the Border Network for Human Rights.

No More Deaths said it seeks to shed light on the disparity to achieve more transparency and accountability from government agencies. CBP, on its end, told Border Report that it follows Congressional reporting requirements in its task. And noticed that despite the gaps between 2016 and 2022 it documented more deaths than the organization in 2022 (149 compared to 139).

"While CBP works had to track this information as fully and accurately as possible, these data are not all-encompassing. These numbers may differ from other organizations that track similar data," CBP told Border Report. Nonetheless, it added that "the U.S. Border Patrol's Missing Migrant Program continues to expand partnerships with key stakeholders to improve tracking of reportable incidents."

The U.S. is the last part of a highly dangerous journey that, for many migrants, starts thousands of miles south and has many other instances that can claim their lives. A March report by the UN's International Organization for Migration showed that over 1,000 migrants have died or disappeared in the Americas in 2023, mainly as a result of lacking "options for safe and regular" mobility.

The report tallied 1,148 deaths or disappearances last year in the region, saying the aforementioned unsafe context "increases the chances that migrants will take irregular paths that can endanger their lives.

Central America was the subregion in which most of the incidents have taken place, likely in the Darien Gap, the treacherous jungle path used by hundreds of thousands of migrants to travel to North America. Last year, over half a million people crossed the Darien Gap on their way up north.

Overall, 591 deaths or disappearances took place in Central America. North America followed in the list, with 336 deaths or disappearances. South America had the lowest figures, with 89.

As for the main causes, drowning topped the list with 398 deaths or disappearances, while 290 incidents as a result of being in a dangerous mean of transportation were the second cause. Extreme weather or sanitary conditions, violence and disease were among the other reasons listed.