After researchers exhumed 52 graves of what they suspect are undocumented immigrants in Falfurrias, Texas, state lawmakers have called for an investigation. Lori Baker, an anthropologist at Baylor University, and her students cannot tell exactly how many are buried in the mass grave because the remains are so intermingled. Multiple corpses fill the same body bag, and some bones were in trash bags, while others bones were just dumped in the mass grave. Brooks County officials say that for many years the funeral home Funeraria del Angel Howard-Williams has been paid to handle the burials of undocumented immigrants. One set of bones was buried in a bag bearing the logo of the home’s parent company. Hundreds of undocumented immigrants have died in Brooks County in recent years, often of dehydration as they travel 30 miles or more in 100-plus-degree heat to avoid border the patrol. “There is no doubt that a crime has taken place,” said state Rep. Terry Canales, who is calling for an investigation into the mass graves. “We need to send the message to the world that in our state, we do not stain the honor of loved ones who have passed away.”
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