More migrants drowning while crossing into U.S.

From the Imperial Valley Press:

It was the middle of the night when U.S. Border Patrol surveillance camera operators spotted Cesar Coriche Flores’ group heading north toward the All-American Canal. When agents arrived on the scene, they picked up five people on land and found two more still in the water. They learned one member of the group was missing.

Despite a search, agents came up empty. It wasn’t until more than 48 hours later, on June 8, that Coriche Flores’ body was discovered in the Briar Main Canal east of here by an Imperial Irrigation District employee. At 18 years old, he was the youngest person to drown trying to cross into Imperial County illegally this year, but in most respects his death was unexceptional.

Drowning is the leading cause of immigrant deaths in the county, accounting for 37 out of 65 reported deaths since 2007, according to data compiled by the Mexican Consulate in Calexico. For the years 1999 to 2007, “climate conditions” like dehydration and frostbite had been the most likely cause of border deaths.

In the county overall deaths along the border, though, are down sharply from earlier in the decade. Imperial County had a high of 113 reported deaths in 2001, compared with 27 last year, according to the consulate.

Jesús Gutiérrez, who handles immigrant death cases for the consulate here, believes added fencing in the desert has helped reduce deaths. But by making it more difficult to cross illegally over remote stretches of the desert, the fence also has funneled smugglers to the waterways, he said, leading in part to the increased ratio of drowning deaths. Prompted by the trend, the consulate is planning to debut a publicity campaign in August that focuses on the dangers of the canals, Gutiérrez said.

Read more from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.

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