FOURTEEN MIGRANTS DIE IN ARIZONA DESERT

Fourteen undocumented immigrants died in the Arizona desert this week.  It was the largest group to perish at the same time in the desert southwest in a number of years.  Eleven other were rescued by Border Patrol agents. Officials believe the migrants were abandoned by a smuggler five days prior to their discovery. 

Critics of the current border policy say that such tragedies are an inevitable result of a strategy that has pushed people to attempt to cross the border in remote desert areas.  Since 1994, the number of Border Patrol agents along the southwest border has doubled.  The primary focus has been on stemming the number of crossers in urban areas. This goal has been achieved, but it seems that there has been no reduction in the overall number of people attempting the crossing. Instead, people are making the crossing in remote, unpopulated areas.

To address this problem, the Mexican government is planning on providing survival kits to would-be migrants. The kits would include food, rehydration tablets and first aid materials.  The plan is to begin distributing the kits next month. However, the Mexican government is already the target of criticism for the kits. Some INS officials are concerned that it makes it look like the Mexican government is encouraging undocumented immigration.