BROWNSVILLE — The number of unauthorized immigrants who died trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico declined border-wide except in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, leading Mexican officials to conclude that increased Border Patrol presence has channeled migrants to the valley’s most dangerous river and brush routes.


While notoriously rugged U.S. Border Patrol sectors such as Tucson and Yuma in Arizona, and El Paso, Texas, saw a marked decline, the number of deaths in the valley grew by 72 percent last year.

Statistics kept by Mexican consulates show 67 deaths in Hidalgo, Starr, and Brooks counties and 22 deaths in Cameron and Willacy counties — all in the Rio Grande Valley. Those numbers represent an increase from 2007 when there were 39 deaths and 18 deaths respectively.

The tallies also count bodies recovered on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande that are not recorded by U.S. officials. They do not include bodies with identification from Central America or other places.

The Tucson consulate, which covers a part of the border that is now about 80 percent fenced, recorded 116 deaths in 2008 compared to 166 in 2007 — a 30 percent decrease. The Yuma sector, now almost entirely fenced, had one death in 2008 as opposed to 13 in 2007 — a 92 percent decrease.

The numbers fluctuate widely over the years and differ slightly by consulate. By far, the Tucson consulate has recorded the most deaths — about 1,020 over an eight-year period.

The McAllen, Texas, consulate saw the death toll top 40 in 2001, 2003, and 2006 for Hidalgo, Starr and Brooks counties. But 2008 was the deadliest in recent memory, said spokeswoman Miriam Medel GarcÃ*a.

“What we’re thinking is that people decided to cross from this part of the border because they think others are more dangerous,â€