How many people attempting to cross the U.S border have been killed?
Each year there are several hundred immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border. The number of deaths has steadily increased since the middle 1990s with exposure (including heat stroke, dehydration, and hypothermia) being the leading cause. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, 1,954 people died crossing the United States-Mexico border between the years 1998-2004. In the fiscal year ending September 29, 2004, 460 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. In 2005, more than 500 died across the entire U.S.-Mexico border. The number of yearly border crossing deaths has doubled since 1995. Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs has compiled data that includes deaths on the Mexican side of the border area during the period from 1994 to 2000. Their data show 87 deaths in 1996, 149 in 1997, 329 in 1998, 358 in 1999 and 499 in 2000. It is often very difficult for the police to identify the suspects, because many groups might be involved. Authorities think that most of the more violent d
