Rose Lee said her nephew left his native Peru and journeyed to the U.S.-Mexico border in search of his "American dream." But she said she did not think the quest would cost him his life.
Alan Paredes Salazar, 37, drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande in early September alongside nearly a dozen other migrants whose bodies were found in the river by U.S. Border Patrol agents, his family said. The Medical Examiner's Office in Webb County, Texas confirmed it processed Paredes Salazar's body.
"My nephew's death has left us devastated. It's a very tragic death, to travel so far and die in an unknown place," said Lee, who lives in southern California.
Paredes Salazar's death was not an anomaly. At least 853 migrants died trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully in the past 12 months, making fiscal year 2022 the deadliest year for migrants recorded by the U.S. government, according to internal Border Patrol data obtained by CBS News.
The figure, which far exceeded the previous record of 546 migrant deaths recorded by Border Patrol in fiscal year 2021, is likely an undercount due to data collection limits, migration policy analysts said. An April report by a federal watchdog found that Border Patrol did not collect and record "complete data on migrant deaths."
The number also does not encompass all deaths of migrants who died trying to reach or cross the U.S. border, since Border Patrol only counts migrants it identified or processed on U.S. territory. Still, the record deaths reported by Border Patrol offer a grim glimpse into the dangerous, and sometimes deadly, trek millions of migrants have undertaken over the past years in hopes of reaching the U.S.
At least 853 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in past 12 months — a record high
Rose Lee said her nephew left his native Peru and journeyed to the U.S.-Mexico border in search of his "American dream." But she said she did not think the quest would cost him his life.
Alan Paredes Salazar, 37, drowned trying to cross the Rio Grande in early September alongside nearly a dozen other migrants whose bodies were found in the river by U.S. Border Patrol agents, his family said. The Medical Examiner's Office in Webb County, Texas confirmed it processed Paredes Salazar's body.
"My nephew's death has left us devastated. It's a very tragic death, to travel so far and die in an unknown place," said Lee, who lives in southern California.
Paredes Salazar's death was not an anomaly. At least 853 migrants died trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully in the past 12 months, making fiscal year 2022 the deadliest year for migrants recorded by the U.S. government, according to internal Border Patrol data obtained by CBS News.
The figure, which far exceeded the previous record of 546 migrant deaths recorded by Border Patrol in fiscal year 2021, is likely an undercount due to data collection limits, migration policy analysts said. An April report by a federal watchdog found that Border Patrol did not collect and record "complete data on migrant deaths."
The number also does not encompass all deaths of migrants who died trying to reach or cross the U.S. border, since Border Patrol only counts migrants it identified or processed on U.S. territory. Still, the record deaths reported by Border Patrol offer a grim glimpse into the dangerous, and sometimes deadly, trek millions of migrants have undertaken over the past years in hopes of reaching the U.S.
Many migrants have drowned in the Rio Grande. Others have perished due to the extreme heat in the inhospitable desert terrain along some parts of the U.S. southern border. U.S. officials have also reported deadly falls from border barriers that migrants sometimes climb.
But even when migrants successfully enter the U.S., the trek can still be deadly, as illustrated by the deaths of 53 migrants abandoned inside a tractor-trailer in July, the deadliest human smuggling case in U.S. history.
In a statement to CBS News, Cecilia Barreda, a spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which oversees Border Patrol, said human smugglers have been endangering migrants' lives to make a profit.
"Smuggling organizations are abandoning migrants in remote and dangerous areas, leading to a rise in the number of rescues but also tragically a rise in the number of deaths," Barreda said. "The terrain along the border is extreme, the summer heat is severe, and the miles of desert migrants must hike after crossing the border in many areas are unforgiving."
In addition to reporting unprecedented numbers of migrant deaths over the past years, Border Patrol has recorded a sharp increase in rescues or life-saving operations in which agents assist migrants in distress. Border Patrol recorded 22,014 migrant rescues in fiscal year 2022, a 72% jump from 2021, CBP statistics show.
The recent spike in migrant deaths, current and former U.S. immigration officials said, can be partly attributed to the soaring number of migrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully over the past two years.
Federal authorities along the U.S. southern border stopped migrants nearly 2.4 million times in fiscal year 2022, an all-time high. While the tally included 1.1 million expulsions under a pandemic-era restriction known as Title 42, as well as a significant number of repeat crossings, the migration wave has strained the government's resources and created major humanitarian challenges for the Biden administration.
"It is a high number," said Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former Department of Homeland Security immigration official under former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, referring to the migrant deaths. "But it's also amongst a record year for everything else."
"Is it more dangerous? Yes. But there's also a lot more people trying," added Cardinal Brown, who now serves as the managing director of immigration and cross-border policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.