U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered the bodies of two illegal immigrants Wednesday and Thursday.

On Thursday at about 11:45 a.m., a Border Patrol agent came upon a deceased man, believed to be in his 20s, in a wash about seven miles east of Sasabe and about two miles north of the border, said Rob Daniels, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.

On Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., a crew aboard a National Guard helicopter spotted a man on the northern part of the Tohono O'odham Nation, he said. An agent went to the area and found a 27-year-man from Chiapas, Mexico, dead.

From the Arizona Daily Star

The number of illegal immigrants dying in Arizona's desert appears to have significantly decreased so far this year — no matter who's counting.

Tallies from the U.S. Border Patrol, county medical examiner's offices and the Mexican Consulate show declines in deaths that range between 21 percent and 35 percent lower than the previous year. Each organization tracks the deaths slightly differently.

Some say the lower number is a sign that fewer people are crossing through Arizona, perhaps as a result of more enforcement at the border, the threat of jail time in the Border Patrol's zero-tolerance program, the state's new employer-sanctions law and the downturn in the U.S. economy.

Others say it's more likely because of cooler weather, or because smugglers have shifted routes.
But with the rest of June and the hottest, and deadliest, month of July still to come, the numbers could spike to match the totals of past years.

Continue reading this article by Brady McCombs in the Arizona Daily Star

At least three illegal immigrants died Monday and Tuesday along Arizona's border with Mexico, officials said.
Also Monday and Tuesday, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 47 illegal immigrants in two downtown Nogales, Ariz., hotels and rescued dozens of illegal border crossers, officials said.

Deaths

Three illegal immigrants — two men and a woman — died on the Tohono O'odham Nation west of Tucson, officials said.

On Tuesday at about 9 a.m. southwest of Sells, a Border Patrol agent discovered the body of a 21-year-old man from Mexico, said Rob Daniels, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. The agent found the man under a tree south of Federal Route 20, he said. He appeared to have died a couple of hours earlier.
On Monday at about 11 a.m., an agent with the Border Patrol's search, trauma and rescue team found the body of a man about four miles southwest of the village of Pisinimo, west of Sells, Daniels said. Borstar agents had been looking for the man since the night before.

The rescue attempt began late Sunday, when agents apprehended two men near Pisinimo. One of them was the deceased man's brother. He told agents he had left his brother the night before about five miles south of Pisinimo. That man, a 32-year-old citizen of Mexico and the man with him, a 19-year-old Mexican citizen, helped agents during the search, Daniels said.

The deceased was a 34-year-old man from Mexico, Daniels said. His brother was put in contact with officials from the Mexican Consulate, which will help him make funeral arrangements and return to Mexico, Daniels said.

On Monday night around 9 p.m., the Border Patrol was notified of a 911 call made by a man who said he and three others were in distress near the village of Vamori, about 10 miles north of the border. About 9:45 p.m., a crew aboard a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine helicopter spotted the four people — two married couples — and landed.

The crew put them aboard the helicopter and flew them to the Sells hospital, Daniels said. At about 10 p.m., one of the women, a 20-year-old from Veracruz, Mexico, died at the hospital, he said.
The other woman, 21, of Tlaxcala, Mexico, was flown by life flight to St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson. No information was available on her condition as of Tuesday night.

The two men were treated and deemed fit for travel. They were turned over to the custody of the Mexican Consulate.

Continue reading this article by Brady McCombs in the Arizona Daily Star

The body of a 15-year-old illegal immigrant boy was found by U.S. Border Patrol agents late Saturday night near Arivaca.

Agents also rescued several people in incidents over the hot weekend along Arizona's stretch of U.S.-Mexican border.

A crew aboard a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine helicopter just before midnight Saturday spotted what appeared to be a body in a wash south of Arivaca, about 50 miles southwest of Tucson, said Mario Escalante, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.

An agent went to the wash and found the body, Escalante said. Personal belongings nearby in a backpack indicated the body was that of a 15-year-old from Jalisco, Mexico, he said.

The 100-degree-plus heat put many other illegal immigrants in danger as well. The Border Patrol performed two other noteworthy rescues Sunday and were in the midst of another Monday.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office called the Border Patrol about 9:30 a.m. Sunday reporting that a suspected illegal immigrant was suffering from severe dehydration near Interstate 8, east of Gila Bend, Escalante said. When agents arrived, they found a 31-year-old man from Mexico in bad condition. He was flown by helicopter to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, Escalante said. As of Sunday night, he was still unconscious in the intensive care unit, he said.

His brother, who was found with him, told agents that a group of illegal immigrants had helped him move his brother closer to the highway. Agents found a group of seven illegal immigrants from Mexico nearby. Three of them were suffering from dehydration and were taken by ground ambulance to Banner Estrella Medical Center in Phoenix, he said.

About 3 a.m. Sunday near the town of Cobabi on the Tohono O'odham Nation, agents found a 22-year-old woman from El Salvador who had been reported missing by her brother the night before. Her feet were so badly blistered she couldn't walk, and she was dehydrated, Escalante said. She was treated at the scene and sent for processing and deportation to her home country in Central America.

Agents were still searching the reservation Monday afternoon for a man whose brother told agents late Sunday night that his sibling had been left behind. Agents caught the brother about 11 p.m.east of Why on Arizona 86, Escalante said. The man told agents that his brother was dehydrated and left behind. Agents were searching the area, Escalante said.

This article is by Brady McCombs, from the Arizona Daily Star

The body of a 15-year-old illegal immigrant boy was found by U.S. Border Patrol agents late Saturday night near Arivaca.

Agents also rescued several people in incidents over the hot weekend along Arizona's stretch of U.S.-Mexican border.

A crew aboard a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine helicopter just before midnight Saturday spotted what appeared to be a body in a wash south of Arivaca, about 50 miles southwest of Tucson, said Mario Escalante, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.

An agent went to the wash and found the body, Escalante said. Personal belongings nearby in a backpack indicated the body was that of a 15-year-old from Jalisco, Mexico, he said.

The 100-degree-plus heat put many other illegal immigrants in danger as well. The Border Patrol performed two other noteworthy rescues Sunday and were in the midst of another Monday.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office called the Border Patrol about 9:30 a.m. Sunday reporting that a suspected illegal immigrant was suffering from severe dehydration near Interstate 8, east of Gila Bend, Escalante said.
When agents arrived, they found a 31-year-old man from Mexico in bad condition. He was flown by helicopter to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, Escalante said. As of Sunday night, he was still unconscious in the intensive care unit, he said.

His brother, who was found with him, told agents that a group of illegal immigrants had helped him move his brother closer to the highway. Agents found a group of seven illegal immigrants from Mexico nearby. Three of them were suffering from dehydration and were taken by ground ambulance to Banner Estrella Medical Center in Phoenix, he said.

About 3 a.m. Sunday near the town of Cobabi on the Tohono O'odham Nation, agents found a 22-year-old woman from El Salvador who had been reported missing by her brother the night before. Her feet were so badly blistered she couldn't walk, and she was dehydrated, Escalante said. She was treated at the scene and sent for processing and deportation to her home country in Central America.

Agents were still searching the reservation Monday afternoon for a man whose brother told agents late Sunday night that his sibling had been left behind. Agents caught the brother about 11 p.m.east of Why on Arizona 86, Escalante said. The man told agents that his brother was dehydrated and left behind. Agents were searching the area, Escalante said.

This article is by Brady McCombs, from the Arizona Daily Star