According to CNN, the data released by the US Border Patrol on the 28th showed that in fiscal 2021, the death toll of immigrants on the southwestern border of the United States, that is, the US-Mexico border, reached a record high, reaching 557, more than double the previous fiscal year. The media said that this number does not truly reflect the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, and the real number of migrant deaths may be even higher.
The U.S. Border Patrol reported 557 migrants dying at the U.S.-Mexico border in the fiscal year from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021, up from 254 deaths in fiscal year 2020 and about 119 percent year-over-year, and the highest number on record in 1998. Because migrants often get lost on the way to the United States due to complex terrain and the hot climate, most of these migrants die from heat exposure. Because some states along the U.S. border often find the remains of migrants without the involvement of U.S. Border Patrol law enforcement officers, the death toll released by the U.S. Border Patrol does not truly reflect the death toll of all border migrants, which means that the number of migrants dying at the U.S.-Mexico border may be higher than the 557.
According to the data released by the US Department of Homeland Security on the 22nd, the US government recorded more than 1.7 million illegal immigrants being intercepted at the US-Mexico border in the past 12 months, the largest in history. Records show that about 78 percent of illegal immigrants intercepted in the past 12 months came from Mexico and Central American countries, and more than 370,000 from dozens of other countries, including Ecuador, Brazil, Haiti and more. About 61 per cent of intercepted migrants were repatriated. U.S. border officials have carried out more than 1 million evictions citing public health emergencies.
Since the beginning of this year, the influx of illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border has continued, posing a serious challenge to the U.S. and Mexican governments. At the same time, U.S. media reports on the separation of immigrant families at the border, or incidents of extortion and beatings, have provoked widespread criticism of the U.S. government's immigration policy.