Immigrant Deaths Increase Along Border

More and more immigrants continue to risk their lives to reach the U.S. Today we spoke to the Mexican Consolute about the risk these immigrants take.

The Hidalgo Police Department found the body of a man floating in the waters of the Rio Grande near the Hidalgo International Bridge Wednesday morning.

It's believed he drowned in his attempt to cross into the U.S. His body was covered in tattoos, but he hasn't been identified yet.

According to the Mexican Consulate, year to date statistics brings the number of immigrant deaths to 30. Just last year in 2006, 57 deaths were recorded in the McAllen sector alone.

"I mean, 29 deaths is a lot. Every year Mexico has an average of 400 deaths in the entire border, which is a lot of people. We are very concerned about that. We are going to increase our protection campaigns and our prevention campaigns," says Miriam Medel, Mexican Consulate in McAllen.

The body of a 20 year old man from Mexico was also found near Falfurrias. The body of an unidentified woman was also found Wednesday afternoon near La Joya.

And just hours ago, Hidalgo County Sheriff's deputies responded to another body near the same area.

The increased number of deaths has also been noticed because human smugglers are crossing undocumented immigrants through remote and dangerous areas due to increased border security.


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