Border Patrol urges migrants to 'please avoid crossing illegally'

The U.S. Border Patrol is urging migrants attempting to cross the border into the country to avoid doing so illegally after at least nine undocumented migrants died from high temperatures and drowning.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Chief Patrol Agent Jason Owens of the Del Rio Sector issued a “warning of extreme importance” for migrants seeking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, reported Fox News.

The warning claims that the border crossing attempts have become “more dangerous” for the hundreds of migrants that seek to enter the country.

"The currents of the Rio Grande have become more dangerous due to recent and continuing rainfall and more rain is forecasted for the coming week," Owens said. "Despite these adverse conditions, U.S. Border Patrol, Del Rio Sector continues to encounter more than 100+, 200+ attempting to cross the Rio Grande daily."

The warning comes as at least eight migrants died while attempting to cross the Rio Grande river from Mexico into Texas this weekend. The undocumented migrants died when a large group attempted to cross the river at Eagle Pass when the tide was higher than usual due to heavy rainfall.

The river, which usually runs about 3-feet-deep, increased to 5 feet on Thursday, causing the water to run five times faster than usual, reported The New York Post.

The body of a ninth migrant who had attempted to cross the Rio Grande was found earlier this week.

NEW: After recent deaths, Border Patrol in the Del Rio, TX sector issues a warning of “extreme importance” & asks migrants to “please avoid crossing illegally” due to strong river currents w/ more rain forecasted in coming days. Large groups continue crossing by the hundreds. pic.twitter.com/nUSiQBXsqi

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 3, 2022

According to CBP data, agents have discovered the bodies of more than 200 migrants in the Del Rio Sector so far in the fiscal year.

Similarly, a report by the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration said the U.S. border with Mexico is among the “deadliest land crossing in the world.”  

“1,238 lives have been lost during migration in the [north, central and south] Americas in 2021, among them at least 51 children,” according to the report. “At least 728 of these deaths occurred on the United States-Mexico border crossing, making this the deadliest land crossing in the world.”