Rescues of asylum-seekers soar as Border Patrol ramps up efforts and more migrants arrive

For years, immigration advocates complained that U.S. Border Patrol agents were more focused on stopping border-crossers than helping people who got lost in the vast, often deadly terrain of the borderlands.

But a renewed emphasis on rescuing migrants – along with historically high numbers of asylum-seekers at the border – is leading to more rescues.

Statistics released this week by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency overseeing Border Patrol, show a sharp increase in border rescues:

• 5,336 rescued migrants in fiscal year 2020.

• 12,857 in fiscal year 2021.

• 22,014 in fiscal year 2022, which ended in September.

"It's increased, there's no question about it," said Vicente Rodriguez, co-founder of San Diego-based Águilas del Desierto, a nonprofit that coordinates with Border Patrol to save migrants. "Border Patrol is more concerned about saving lives than they had been in the past."

Not all, however, get rescued in time: The number of migrant deaths at the border is also up. In fiscal 2021, agents tallied 568 migrant deaths, the highest ever recorded. Most of the deaths (219) were attributed to "environmental exposure-heat" as people trek through blazing terrain in Arizona and Texas. Agents also counted 86 deaths as "water-related" as migrants try to cross canals or the swift-moving Rio Grande, which divides the U.S. and Mexico.

Immigration advocates and experts believe the border death toll is much higher, and the federal system for death data long failed to include many border deaths.

Why are there so many U.S. Border Patrol rescues?

A NEW PROGRAM: Customs and Border Protection officials point to the ramping up of the Missing Migrants Program, an initiative started in 2017 aimed at assisting lost migrants and coordinating with local authorities to identify remains.

• Officials have erected "rescue beacons" across the border where migrants could press a button and a signal will alert authorities to their precise location.

• Border Patrol has increased its coordination with local authorities and groups, such as Aguilas del Desierto, to bolster rescue attempts.

More: Migrant deaths on the rise; Border Patrol increases rescues

MORE MIGRANTS: The sheer number of people arriving at the border also leads to more rescues, Rodriguez said. Last fiscal year, authorities encountered 2.4 million asylum-seekers at the Southwest border – a new U.S. record, according to CBP statistics. Though many of them were repeat crossers, the numbers amassing at the border will translate to more people getting lost or stranded, and more rescues, he said.

Rodriguez said his group has also seen an increase  in phone calls asking for help. His group fields about 30 phone calls a day from stranded migrants or their families, about twice as many calls than there were a few years ago. Workers then pass along the information to Border Patrol officers, he said.

MORE CELLPHONES: Also, migrants these days tend to carry smartphones, which help them call and pinpoint their location coordinates for rescues, Rodriguez said. "They're able to rescue more people that way," he said.

Where are most of the rescues taking place?

The majority of the rescues are in the Del Rio Sector in South Texas, where streams of Venezuelans, Cubans, Haitians and other nationalities have in recent years took to crossing.

• The Del Rio Sector saw 906 rescues in fiscal year 2021.

• That was followed by Laredo (568) and El Paso (526), according to CBP statistics.

More: On the high seas between Florida and Cuba, US immigration policy a matter of life and death

What do advocates say about the increased rescues?

Some, like Rodriguez, applaud the Border Patrol for ramping up efforts to save migrants' lives. Others question whether U.S. border policy forces migrants into dangerous crossings in the first place.

A Border Patrol policy that sealed off urban centers, such as El Paso and San Diego, and forced migrants into more remote terrain – a strategy known as “Prevention Through Deterrence” – contributes to the spike in deaths and probably is leading to more rescues, said Vicki Gaubeca, Human Rights Watch's associate director for U.S. immigration and border policy, based in Tucson.

The policy has not actually proved to be a deterrent, she said.

"Sure, you’ll see the rescues increase, but it's because of our polices," Gaubeca said. "We're not preventing this from happening with better policies."

Jason De León, executive director of the Colibri Center for Human Rights, an immigrants' rights group, said Title 42, a pandemic-era rule that allows border agents to remove migrants from the U.S. without hearing their claim, also has contributed to repeat crossers and led to more dangerous crossings.

"They're rescuing people who have been put into harm's way by Border Patrol in the first place," De León said.

Follow Jervis on Twitter: @MrRJervis.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Border rescues on the rise, as more and more migrants arrive at border