Record-Number Level of Migrant Deaths Occurred at US-Mexico Border
Summary from the AllSides News Team
A record number level of migrant deaths and disappearances occurred along the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in 2021, according to the United Nations.
According to the report published on July 1, more than 1,238 lives were lost while migrating to the U.S last year. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) concluded that "at least 728 of these deaths occurred on the United States-Mexico border crossing, making this the deadliest land crossing in the world." The report was released days after 40 men and 13 women who were crossing into the U.S. from Mexico were found dead in an overheated tractor-trailer near San Antonio.
The UN data was predominantly highlighted by right- and center-rated outlets. Some of those reports accentuated how migrant smuggling has become an "industrial business," while others pinned the issue on President Joe Biden's policies. Some right-right outlets highlighted how many "liberal and business-aligned pro-migration groups loudly protested Trump’s life-saving opposition to illegal migration." Left-rated outlets were more likely to note that death is a "constant risk" for "undocumented migrants" as they seek out "increasingly dangerous pathways," while crediting the Biden administration for overseeing the "record number of apprehensions" and "effectively" curtailing asylum-seekers.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
US-Mexico Border Is World’s ‘Deadliest’ Land Crossing: UN StudyThe U.S.-Mexico border has become the world’s “deadliest” land crossing, according to data recently brought to light by a United Nations study.
A historic high of 728 recorded immigrant deaths and disappearances along the U.S.-Mexico border crossing in 2021 has made the land crossing the deadliest in the world, according to the study conducted by the United Nations agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
These deaths accounted for the majority of the 1,238 immigrant deaths in the Americas in 2021, the IOM said in a press release on July 1, adding that these...
From the Center
Smuggling Migrants to the U.S. Is Big BusinessThe business of smuggling migrants to the U.S.—such as the 53 who died after being left in a truck in San Antonio—has grown quickly with more illegal immigration and stronger links between smugglers and organized crime, according to U.S. and Mexican officials.
Migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador pay an estimated $1.7 billion a year to smugglers known as coyotes, according to a 2021 United Nations study. By far the biggest users of coyotes are Guatemalans.
“Migrant smuggling has become an industrial business. Demand is huge and rising, and that means you need...
From the Left
Death is a constant risk for undocumented migrants entering TexasMore than four dozen migrants were found dead in an overheated tractor-trailer on an industrial road in south San Antonio on Monday. Many of them had been sprinkled with steak seasoning in a possible attempt by smugglers to ward off authorities, law enforcement officials said.
The sheer scale and disturbing details, including migrants who apparently tried to escape the suffocating triple-digit temperatures inside the truck by jumping to their deaths along several city blocks, were horrific.
Large numbers of fatalities along the most heavily trafficked northbound path from Mexico and...
AllSides Picks
March 29th, 2024
March 29th, 2024