As the number of migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico increases significantly, the number of documented human rights issues has also increased, the Texas Public Policy Foundation said in a May 6 newsletter.
“An estimated 80% of women and girls are sexually assaulted and abused en route to the United States," the foundation's CEO Greg Sindelar wrote in a newsletter. "There are deaths; last December, 54 migrants were killed when the truck pulling the trailer they were crammed into rolled while taking a sharp turn in southern Mexico. Hundreds more die every year in the deserts and brushy vastness of south Texas.”
Sindelar's comments come at a time when southern border apprehensions and encounters have skyrocketed. In March, 159,900 unique individuals were encountered nationwide, a 37% increase from February 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said.
There were 221,303 total encounters along the southwest land border in March, a 33 percent increase compared to February. CBP noted that total numbers may be misleading, as the increased number of expulsions resulted in higher than normal occurrences of multiple crossing attempts. Out of the 221,303 migrants encountered, "28 percent involved individuals who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months, compared to an average one-year re-encounter rate of 14 percent for FY2014-2019," the agency said.
The Austin Journal previously reported that the increase in numbers seeking to reach the United States has resulted in increased human trafficking, as cartels shift their focus from materials to people, the latter of which is more profitable.