Some Migrants Never Leave Brooks County
texasobserver.org
by Melissa del Bosque
Published on: Monday, September 12, 2011


A sign warning migrants not to cross the border

One of the deadliest corridors along the U.S.-Mexico border is a remote stretch of ranchland in tiny Brooks County (pop. 7,223). Every year, thousands of migrants hike a network of remote trails through the scrub and mesquite to bypass the last Border Patrol checkpoint on U.S. Highway 281, headed north.

If migrants make it around the checkpoint on foot, it’s a straight shot by car or bus to San Antonio, Austin, and other points north. But many never make it.

At least 33 migrants have died since April in Brooks County and more than 160 have been rescued since October. The majority of deaths and rescues occur in the hottest months of summer.

This summer has been especially deadly, with unrelenting triple-digit heat and drought. In July, Border Patrol launched “Operation Heatwaveâ€