07, Feb 2018 | CJP Team

According to the United Nations’ migration body, the number of migrants who died near the United States-Mexico border increased last year, while the number of those trying to cross the border decreased. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that 412 migrants died on either side of the border in 2017, compared to the 398 deaths in 2016. In a statement, Frank Laczko, who heads the IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, said, “The increase in deaths is especially concerning, as the available data indicate that far fewer migrants entered the US via its border with Mexico in the last year”. In 2017, US border patrol said it had detained 341,084 migrants along the US-Mexico border, 44% lower than the 611,689 migrants who were detained during the previous year. US President Donald Trump’s strident rhetoric against immigrants has been credited with causing a drop in attempted border crossings, AFP noted.