Amid Brutal Heatwave, Remains Of 43 Illegal Immigrants Found Along Arizona Borderland

The remains of at least 43 illegal immigrants have reportedly been found along Arizona's borderlands this summer as brutal heatwaves and soaring record-high temperatures were recorded all over the U.S.

The bodies of some 43 migrants were reportedly found across the Arizona-Mexico border this June alone, confirmed authorities. Of the nearly four dozen remains that were found, at least 16 bodies were reportedly recovered just a day after their deaths, while 13 were already dead for about a week.

This data revealing the horrific prevalence was first published by Humane Borders, a nonprofit organization that maps the recoveries of bodies in Arizona using data from the Pima County medical examiner’s office in Tucson, the Guardian reported.

During the first six months of 2021, 127 corpses were reportedly recovered from the region, 31 more in number when compared to the same period in 2020, Mike Kreyche, a mapping coordinator for Humane Borders said.

The death toll this year has reportedly already surpassed the 2017 figure, when 123 bodies were recovered along the Arizona-Mexico border.

The Arizona-Mexico border is approximately 400 miles long with a vast stretch of desert land. Exposure has been listed as the most common cause of death of people who die along this route.

Humanitarian organizations like Humane Borders, Tucson Samaritans and No More Deaths reportedly leave water jugs and supplies in the desert to help dehydrated migrants from dying along the route. Since 2004, a horrifying number of more than 3,700 migrant deaths have been documented in this region, the Independent reported.

“Due to the vastness of the territory and the millions of acres of desolate desert that migrants traverse, the sad reality is that a substantial percentage of human remains will never be recovered,” says Humane Borders on their website. They also stated that over 1000 dead still remain unidentified as of December 2018.

There were reportedly 36 migrant deaths in the first five months of this year at Brooks County Sheriff’s Department in southern Texas. This is more than all the deaths reported in 2020. The area there has been dubbed as the “desert of the dead,” according to local news stations. More than 800 immigrants' remains have been reportedly located in Brooks county in the past decade.

The numbers of immigrants who die along these deserts began to rise in 2001 as illegal immigration from Mexico to the U.S. increased. Since security has been tightened along the California and Texas borders, an increasing number of migrants have been forced to gamble their lives and move through Arizona’s dangerous landscape.

Approximately 200 migrants reportedly died this month in Oregon and Washington. The deceased mostly include homeless, sick, and old people.

The U.S. reportedly recorded its hottest June in 127 years this 2021, with an average temperature of 72.6F, which is about 4.2 degrees more than the average temperature, a recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.