Migrants keep crossing despite risks and Border Patrol apprehensions - Los Angeles Times
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Migrants keep crossing despite risks and Border Patrol apprehensions

A man appearing exhausted lies on the ground and two men stand beside him
Oney Figueroa Asencio, 22, of Honduras, collapses from exhaustion after trying to run from U.S. Border Patrol agents. With him are Eduardo Mejia, 34, left, and Antonio Herrera, 42, also of Honduras. They were caught by the Border Patrol after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally on June 2 in McAllen, Texas.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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Newly released data show that migrants were stopped 180,034 times along the U.S. southern border last month — nearly eight times the total during May 2020 and among the highest monthly totals in recent years.

That brought total apprehensions for the year to 711,784, nearly five times the total during the same period last year, though direct comparisons are difficult because of a policy implemented early in the pandemic that dramatically increased the number of people who have been caught multiple times.

Since March 2020, the government has summarily expelled migrants to Mexico using an obscure 1944 public health law; many immediately try crossing again.

A boy offers his mother a water bottle as they sit beside another boy.
Kaled Medrano Henriquez, 8, offers his mother, Jaqueline Medrano Henriquez, 27, water after crossing the border and waiting to be bused by U.S. Border Patrol in La Joya, Texas.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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The recent increase in crossings has come at a tragic price: Between October and the end of April, at least 148 migrants have died along the border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In the Rio Grande Valley, where there were 50,793 apprehensions last month — up from 3,698 in May 2020 — Border Patrol agents respond to about one fatality a week.

Most of the migrants drowned in the river and nearby canals or got lost on ranches and died of exposure and dehydration as they attempted to travel deeper into Texas, Border Patrol agents said.

People line up along a dirt path in front of a tree.
Migrants wait to be loaded on a bus to be processed by the Border Patrol in La Joya, Texas.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
A boy seated next to his mother looks up.
Salvadoran migrants Kelyn Castro and son Jose Anderson Castro, 6, await processing in La Joya, Texas.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Several men stand next to a white vehicle.
From left, Hondurans Antonio Herrera, 42, Oney Figueroa Asencio, 22, and Eduardo Mejia, 34, and Daniel Rivas, 28, of Mexico are detained after crossing illegally into the U.S. in McAllen, Texas.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
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A Border Patrol agent and a dog search among vegetation
A member of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector looks for migrants who crossed from Mexico illegally in Mission, Texas.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
A group of migrants, one from Mexico and nine from Central America are caught by the U.S. Border Patrol.
A group of migrants, one from Mexico and nine from Central America are caught by the U.S. Border Patrol, Rio Grande Valley Sector, after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in McAllen, Texas.
(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
Handcuffed migrants hold processing cards
A group of migrants after being apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
One man holds a clear plastic bag while another, right, has his arms raised as he is searched
A group of migrants are detained by the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally on June 2, 2021, in McAllen, Texas.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
A man in fatigues walks next to three other men in muddy clothes who are handcuffed
Eduardo Mejia, 34, from left, Oney Figueroa Asencio, 22, and Antonio Herrera, 42, all from Honduras, are caught by the Border Patrol in McAllen, Texas, after crossing illegally from Mexico.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Mud caked migrants collapse after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas.
Mud caked migrants collapse after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in McAllen, Texas.
(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)
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