3 illegal immigrants dying every day; toll could set a record
CLAUDINE LoMONACO
Tucson Citizen
At least three people a day have died while trying to cross the desert since the beginning of July, setting the deadliest pace yet for illegal immigrants in Arizona.
At least 42 people have died across the state since July 1, according to Border Patrol and medical examiners' figures.
"It's been absolutely awful," said Patty Nelson of the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office. "Worse than awful. None of us have ever seen it this bad. We're slammed."
The Pima County office has counted 38 illegal immigrant deaths in the first half of July. It's more than the agency has ever counted in an entire month, said Pima County Chief Medical Examiner Bruce Parks, who has had to bring in an extra doctor to help.
The increase in deaths comes even as the number of illegal immigrants appears to have decreased.
Last year at this time, the Tucson sector of the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended 18,419 immigrants and counted 26 deaths in July. Apprehensions this year have dropped to 14,600, yet deaths have increased to 33.
Border Patrol spokesman Gustavo Soto attributed the drop in traffic to the success of the Border Safety Initiative. He blamed the increase in deaths on the unrelenting heat and smugglers.
The Rev. Robin Hoover, director of the humanitarian group Humane Borders, said the death toll points to a failure in policy.
"We've known Border Patrol strategy is not working," Hoover said. "This just shows us that they have no idea how to reduce the deaths."
The death toll for fiscal 2005, which began Oct. 1, is at least 167, according to Border Patrol and medical examiners' figures. There were 221 deaths for all of last year.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/index.php?page=border_news&story_id=071605a2_deadly_july