Sasabe, Mexico – Wearing tight jeans and a glittery “bebe” T-shirt, the 17-year-old scrambled out of a packed van as the temperature edged toward 90 degrees in this barren stretch of the U.S.-Mexican border.
Carrying no hat or sunscreen, the teenager who called herself Adriana Brenda said the longest hike she’d taken was through a shopping mall. But here she was, ready for a three-day trek across the desert.
She carried 2 gallons of water – enough, experts say, to keep her hydrated for two hours.
As temperatures rise, the U.S. Border Patrol and aid groups are gearing up for what they fear could be one of the deadliest summers for migrants sneaking into the United States.
The U.S. Senate is debating a bill that could lock the border tighter than ever, and activists fear the flow of migrants is moving to a hotter and more remote section of desert than the current favorite, an area south of Tucson where hundreds of people have died since 1994.
The desert around Tucson is crawling with 2,400 U.S. Border Patrol agents. Rifle-bearing civilians known as Minutemen also keep watch.
In response, many migrants are crossing closer to Yuma, Ariz., where daytime temperatures can hover around 120 degrees – 10 to 15 degrees hotter than around Tucson.
Migrant deaths for the Yuma sector hit a record 51 in 2005, up from 36 in 2004 and 15 in 2003, according to the Border Patrol.
Apprehensions have jumped 16 percent for the region – with 89,336 people caught from October through April, said Richard Hays, a spokesman for the Border Patrol in Yuma.
“We are already anticipating this shift in traffic and are working to ensure the safety of those who are determined to get into the United States in violation of the law,” he said.
Those plans include erecting seven more rescue beacons in the Yuma sector.
