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The U.S. has been implementing stricter border control policies under the Trump administration. Even American citizens have allegedly been subjected to “unconstitutional” violation of their rights at entry ports. But these disputes aren’t the worst of America’s border issues. The Land of the Free is also home to the most dangerous land border in the world.

The U.S.-Mexico border, which runs right through America’s most underrated national park, is the world’s deadliest land border crossing for migrants. It has seen thousands of crossing fatalities in the last decade alone, though the actual toll is much higher given the unreported cases. As a result, experts are skeptical about the recent record low in illegal U.S.-Mexico border crossings.

Spanning four U.S. states—California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas—the U.S. Southwest border deals with harsh natural conditions, violence, and remote routes. Migrants often have to endure extreme temperatures, dehydration, exploitation by smugglers, and little access to rescue services or aid. Read on to learn more about the disturbing migrant deaths at this infamous land border.

The U.S.-Mexico Border Is The World’s Deadliest Land Border

The U.S.-Mexico Border consistently ranks as the deadliest land border in the world. This reputation peaked in 2022 when the death toll reached a record high of 895, according to the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP). The following year saw a 21.4% decrease, but it was still the second-highest documented number of annual deaths along the U.S. Southwest Border.

Undercounting Criticisms

Since 1998, the USBP has recorded an average of 364 deaths per year, amounting to 8,000 total migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border. But since then, the Border Patrol has faced criticisms of “undercounting” these fatalities. The IOM Missing Migrants Project reports higher numbers, recording an average of 457 migrant deaths and disappearances a year between 2014 and 2021 at the U.S.-Mexico border crossing.

In the summer of 2024, Chilton Tippin, a PhD candidate in cultural anthropology at the University of Colorado Boulder, documented the border crisis and was told, “We don’t count migrants,” when he was viewing open records.

When Tippin asked for autopsy records, he was shocked to find out that it would cost him over $4000 to more than $100,000. He then added that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has complex rules for counting deaths. A separate study found that Border Patrol’s data on migrant deaths from 2009 to 2017, in three South Texas Counties alone, failed to include 139 cases. That was 19% of the county’s 749 recorded death toll during that period. The research explained that this “underreporting” was due to the variety of causes of death along the U.S.-Mexico border.

A 2022 Government Accountability Office report found that

“CBP has not collected and recorded, or reported to Congress, complete data on migrant deaths.”

The report flagged “data entry and recording issues” within the CPB, stating that border control did not always include remains located by external entities such as state and local officials, and presenting another reason as to why migrant deaths may go unreported. While official numbers will often be disputed, numbers reported by the IOM Missing Migrants Project may be more robust, as they include data collected by Mexican immigration authorities, county medical examiners, coroners, and sheriffs.

Top Causes Of Migrant Deaths Along The U.S.-Mexico Border

There are three top causes of migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border: environmental exposure, drowning, and blunt force trauma. This was discovered by Marni LaFleur, Associate Professor of anthropology at the University of San Diego. In a February 2025 article on The Conversation, she explained that migrants brave freezing or heat, particularly in the Sonoran Desert, where they set up camp without food or clean water.

Most migrant drownings along the U.S.-Mexico border occur on the Rio Grande, with the deadliest parts near the City of Eagle Pass, Texas. This river has swift and strong currents, deceptively different depths, sharp rocks, and even dangerous wildlife, like snakes and alligators. The causes vary for blunt force trauma—from car accidents to falling from heights, like the border wall. LaFleur noted that these tragedies cause 20% of migrant deaths, with increasing rates since 2020 following the expansion of the border wall.

Aside from nature and vehicle-related accidents, many migrants also risk their lives by riding “The Beast” (La Bestia) or the “Train of Death” (El Tren de la Muerte)—a deadly freight train that travels through the wilderness and desert landscapes of Mexico to the U.S. Southwest border. Migrants desperately sit on top of the carriages, taking the risk of falling, getting injured, and being attacked by immigration officers who want them off the train.

Illegal U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings Hit Record Low Under Trump Administration

Despite the concerning death toll and dangerous crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border, data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that illegal crossings dropped in fiscal year 2025 and have remained at record lows in 2026. It’s a record low that hasn’t been seen since the 1970s, with only 237,565 apprehensions of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border. Only 27% of these encounters were during the Trump administration.

Former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem proudly announced that the Trump administration has “delivered the most secure border in American history.”

The Biden administration had a daily average of 5,110 migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border from February 2021 to December 2024. But in September 2025, the border only had 279 apprehensions per day. While these numbers are impressive, many experts are still concerned about underreported cases. “We’re simply not seeing the people,” said Ariel Ruiz Soto of the Migration Policy Institute. Official death tolls along the border for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 are not yet available at this time.

But residents of border towns like Eagle Pass seem to be enjoying the peace along the deadly migration route. 2,000 migrants used to cross there daily in 2023. Now, the town only sees around 20 migrants a day.

Former head of U.S. Border Patrol Mike Banks explained to NBC News that active apprehensions send a strong message to those crossing the border illegally. Banks warned that with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), undocumented immigrants can still be apprehended and deported back to their country even if they make it through the dangerous U.S.-Mexico border.