Immigrant deaths in Arizona desert soaring in July

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

PHOENIX (AP) - The number of deaths among illegal immigrants crossing the Arizona desert from Mexico is soaring so high this month that the medical examiner's office that handles the bodies is using a refrigerated truck to store some of them, the chief examiner said Friday.

The bodies of 40 illegal immigrants have been brought to the office of Pima County Medical Examiner Dr. Bruce Parks since July 1. At that rate, Parks said the deaths could top the single-month record of 68 in July 2005 since his office began tracking them in 2000.

"Right now, at the halfway point of the month, to have so many is just a very bad sign," he said. "It's definitely on course to perhaps be the deadliest month of all time."

From Jan. 1 to July 15, the office has handled the bodies of 134 illegal immigrants, up from 93 at the same time last year and 102 in 2008. In 2007, when the office recorded the highest annual deaths of illegal immigrants, 140 bodies had been taken there through July 15.

Parks said his office, which handles immigrant bodies from three counties, is currently storing roughly 250 bodies and had to start using a refrigerated truck because of the increase in immigrant deaths this month.

He said many of the bodies seem to be coming from the desert southwest of Tucson, where it tends to be hotter than eastern parts of the border or the Tucson metro area.

Authorities believe the high number of deaths are likely due to above-average and unrelenting heat in southern Arizona this month and ongoing tighter border security that pushes immigrants to more remote, rugged and dangerous terrain.

While the bodies that go the Pima County Medical Examiner's Office don't represent all the deaths on the Arizona border, the Border Patrol also is seeing the effects of the weather.

"It does seem like the heat is really having a pretty significant impact right now," Agent Colleen Agle said.

Agle did not have statistics for July but said agents have been seeing "quite a few" deaths that appear heat-related.

On Thursday, she said the Border Patrol responded to a call from a husband and wife from Mexico who were experiencing difficulties because of the heat. When agents got there, the 25-year-old man had died; his 22-year-old wife survived and will be taken back to Mexico.

"Unfortunately, (agents) just didn't get there in time," she said, adding that finding immigrants in distress is often extremely difficult because of the vast and treacherous terrain. "It's really sad when this happens. Even one death is too many for us."

Deaths among immigrants occur despite public service advertisements warning them of the dangers of the desert, and the efforts of humanitarian groups that man aid stations for immigrants in distress and 20 Border Patrol rescue beacons in remote areas of the desert that immigrants can activate if they need help.

Border Patrol statistics for the entire U.S.-Mexico border show that deaths among illegal immigrants peaked at 492 in fiscal year 2005 and declined every year until last fiscal year, when they rose to 422.

The Border Patrol says the agency rescued nearly 1,300 people last fiscal year.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9H0G0LO1&show_article=1

Edited July 17, 2010 by ##########

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

[Atencio 43]

It seems like this story kicks around every summer. All I can say is "Oh well"

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

Glad to see Mexico care so much about their people. Why do the Mexican people put up with this shite? I dont see anything reported. I see more Hispanics in the streets of the US protesting 1070 than in the streets of Mexico protesting drug cartels. #######?

Edited July 17, 2010 by Col. Lingus

[Darnell 8,478]

Immigrant deaths in Arizona desert soaring in July

This 'title' of yours is both specious and wrong.

You really mean 'illegal aliens' right ?

Why to deign to p|ss off the ppl in AZ who are LPRs ? Was it a personal choice, to do this?

Or a typing problem ?

Or were you trying to be 'funny' ?

[Moonandstar 6]

Well, that sucks......

They're just dieing in places Americans won't die!

Edited July 17, 2010 by Moonandstar

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Immigrant deaths in Arizona desert soaring in July

This 'title' of yours is both specious and wrong.

You really mean 'illegal aliens' right ?

Why to deign to p|ss off the ppl in AZ who are LPRs ? Was it a personal choice, to do this?

Or a typing problem ?

Or were you trying to be 'funny' ?

Copy-Pasta.

The title was taken from the article. Immigrant is accurate, although not as precise as other labels people cannot agree to not be offended by.

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Copy-Pasta.

The title was taken from the article. Immigrant is accurate, although not as precise as other labels people cannot agree to not be offended by.

Trespassers is more accurate.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

It seems like this story kicks around every summer. All I can say is "Oh well"

The illegal immigrants should stay home and pop open a cold beer instead of crossing the desert in summer. Boy are ever stupid.

[slim 1,525]

I wonder if they're sending the bill for all these services to Mexico?

[Ban Hammer 13,349]

just feeding the buzzards that americans won't feed.

[peejay 327]

I blame Obama for these deaths. If he would actually take steps to deter illegal immigration rather than to reward it then these people would not be risking their lives. Slice it and dice it any way you want to, but that is the bottom line.

[twowls 217]

Boy are ever stupid.

Boy, are ever. Speak not English well and deserve death so, then for make me to laugh and laugh at those stupid and also superior feel.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Boy, are ever. Speak not English well and deserve death so, then for make me to laugh and laugh at those stupid and also superior feel.

Ya got me there. Oh great one who has never, or will ever make a typo.

So are you pro illegal-immigration?

[ErikaAndHamit 73]

You know what is even more despicable? It is the fact that it used to be volunteers (idiots) who would put "water stations" in the desert to help these trespassers, but what pisses me off royally is that it is now going to come out of taxpayers funds to keep these water stations out in the desert because some idiotic voters passed such lunacy. I live in Pima county, so I get to see such ####### day in and out. The water stations were stupid enough, but I have to actually help pay for this now???!!!