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This year is shaping up to be one of the deadliest for immigrants making their illegal treks through Deep South Texas. According to the McAllen Monitor, more than 100 migrants have died during or after crossing the border into the Rio Grande Valley sector this fiscal year. That compares to 2013, the deadliest year on record, when by this time 136 migrant bodies had been recovered. It was in 2013 that the Valley sector surpassed the Tucson Arizona sector as the busiest for illegal crossings. Border Patrol Sector Chief Manuel Padilla says as border security tightens, smugglers move the immigrants through more remote, rugged, and treacherous areas of Hidalgo and Brooke counties — and will leave them behind if they can’t keep up. |