Border Deaths Drop to 15-Year Low

The number of people who died trying to cross the border between the United Statesa and Mexico has dropped to the lowest level in 15 years, as more immigrants turned themselves in to authorities in Texas and fewer took the chance of making the dangerous journey across the Arizona desert. The U.S. government recorded 307 deaths in the 2014 fiscal year that ended in September, the lowest since 1999. The number was 445 in 2013. The Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector had 115 deaths, versus 107 in the Tucson sector. It is the first time since 2001 that Arizona has not been the deadliest place to cross the border. Border enforcement officials credited increased rescue efforts and a Spanish-language campaign discouraging Latin Americans from trekking across the border.