Editing Brooks County, Texas (section)

=="Death Valley" for Migrants==
{{see also|Missing in Brooks County}}
Brooks County is "the nation's busiest corridor for illegal immigration;"<ref name="Going" /> and a tracking camera records up to 150 people going through one piece of property nightly.<ref name="Going" /> More illegal migrants die in Brooks County than in any other county in America.<ref name="Brutal" /> Although it is about {{convert|80|mi}} north of the border, it is on a main route headed toward [[San Antonio]] and [[Dallas]] from Mexico. The documentary ''Missing in Brooks County'' called the county the "[[epicenter]]" of America's immigration problem.<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news
|title=The Texas checkpoint that forces migrants into dangerous terrain – and death. New documentary ''Missing in Brooks County'' looks at Falfurrias, one of the busiest immigration checkpoints in the US[,] and the growing number of deaths plaguing the nation's border region
|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]
|first=Carlos
|last=Sanchez
|date=September 20, 2021
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/20/us-immigration-checkpoint-falfurrias-station-texas-documentary
|access-date=December 1, 2021
|archive-date=November 30, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130144310/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/20/us-immigration-checkpoint-falfurrias-station-texas-documentary
|url-status=live
}}</ref> It was called a "[[Death Valley]]" for migrants in 2014.<ref name=Death/>

Many migrants attempt to bypass the Falfurrias United States Border Patrol interior checkpoint by hiking some {{convert|35|mi}} around it through the open, dry terrain local ranchers call "the killing fields".<ref>{{citation
|title=Texas' Brooks County Is 'Death Valley' for Migrants (video)
|publisher=[[NBC News]]
|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/texas-brooks-county-death-valley-migrants-n152121
|date=2014
|access-date=January 29, 2019
|archive-date=February 7, 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207204754/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/texas-brooks-county-death-valley-migrants-n152121
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The terrain is flat, sandy, and hard to walk on. The lack of landmarks can be disorienting, causing some migrants to walk in circles. Summer, with bright sun and high temperatures regularly exceeding {{cvt|100|°F}}, can lead to dehydration, sunstroke, and death. Those attempting the trip with smugglers can be subject to mistreatment, including ransom and rape.<ref name="Brutal" />

Migrants in distress call [[9-1-1|911]], and there typically are "a few dozen cellphone calls a day".<ref name=Going/> Between 2016 and 2018, there were 722 calls leading to Border Patrol rescues, usually resulting in arrest or deportation.<ref name=Brutal/> The Border Patrol apprehends between 60 and 70 [[undocumented immigrant]]s daily.<ref name="Brutal" /> Tom Slowinski, in charge of the Falfurrias Border Patrol facility in 2019, said, "No other checkpoint anywhere on the Southwest border catches more alien smuggling cases than this checkpoint right here."<ref>{{cite news
|title=As Migrants Stream In At The Border, Inland Checkpoints Feel The Strain
|date=June 12, 2019
|first=Eric
|last=Westervelt
|newspaper=[[NPR]]
|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/06/12/731797754/as-migrants-stream-in-at-the-border-inland-checkpoints-feel-the-strain
|access-date=November 15, 2021
|archive-date=November 15, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115123442/https://www.npr.org/2019/06/12/731797754/as-migrants-stream-in-at-the-border-inland-checkpoints-feel-the-strain
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

Illegal immigrant death is also a significant issue. Between 2009 and 2018, over 600 bodies were recovered. Most are not identified. Consequently, Brooks County has been described as "the biggest cemetery in America.” According to Brooks County Deputy Sheriff Benny Martinez, the multiple of found to unfound bodies is probably 5 to 10 times.<ref name="Brutal" /> One estimate is that there are over 2000 unfound bodies.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gallegos |first=Ricardo |date=October 13, 2020 |title=Crítica de ''Missing in Brooks County'', los desaparecidos de la frontera |newspaper=La Estatuilla (Mexico) |url=https://laestatuilla.com/criticas/critica-de-missing-in-brooks-county-los-desaparecidos-de-la-frontera-dxiff20/ |url-status=live |access-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119145250/https://laestatuilla.com/criticas/critica-de-missing-in-brooks-county-los-desaparecidos-de-la-frontera-dxiff20/ |archive-date=November 19, 2021}}</ref> Consistent with these estimates, the number of reported missing persons exceeds the number of bodies recovered.<ref name="Brutal" />

The illegal immigration issue is a significant challenge for Brooks County. Migrants bypassing the Border Patrol checkpoint sometimes damage property, tear down fences, steal, or threaten residents of the ranches through which they trespass.<ref name="Brutal" /> Residents resent the reputation the Border Patrol checkpoint and migrant deaths have given their county. Most importantly, the cost of addressing these issues has overwhelmed county resources, and the county has been unsuccessful in getting additional federal help for the local impact of a significant national issue.<ref name=Death>{{cite news
|date=July 9, 2014
|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/texas-brooks-county-death-valley-migrants-n152121
|title=Texas' Brooks County Is 'Death Valley' for Migrants. A deputy in one of the counties that has seen a surge in undocumented children says they have found 37 migrants' bodies this year alone.
|newspaper=[[NBC News]]
|access-date=January 29, 2019
|archive-date=February 7, 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207204754/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/texas-brooks-county-death-valley-migrants-n152121
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name=Brutal>{{cite magazine
|date=July 10, 2018
|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-07-10/brooks-county-in-south-texas-part-of-main-trek-by-immigrant
|first=Silvia
|last=Foster-Frau
|title=The Brutal Border. Texas' Brooks County, part of the Border Patrol's massive Rio Grande Valley Sector, is ground zero for migrant deaths
|magazine=[[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref><ref name=Going>{{cite web
|last1=Saslow
|first1=Eli
|title=Going it alone. In one of the poorest counties in Texas, at the center of the U.S. border crisis, one deputy must do the work of many
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/08/09/going-it-alone/
|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]
|date=August 9, 2014
|access-date=August 25, 2017
|archive-date=November 12, 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112030912/http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/08/09/going-it-alone/
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|title=Huge border influx brings fears of grim summer for migrant deaths
|first=Nick
|last=Miroff
|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]
|via=[[newspapers.com]]
|date=June 3, 2021
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/summer-migrant-deaths-southern-border/2021/06/03/a03d7bb8-c3a6-11eb-8c34-f8095f2dc445_story.html
|access-date=June 4, 2021
|archive-date=June 4, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604172815/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/summer-migrant-deaths-southern-border/2021/06/03/a03d7bb8-c3a6-11eb-8c34-f8095f2dc445_story.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

The drain on local services is significant. The Border Patrol does not answer 911 calls or recover or bury dead bodies, so that falls on the county. The Brooks County Sheriff's Department, which once had 12 deputies, now has two, who work 48 hour weeks in aging vehicles with no health insurance. The Ed Rachal Memorial Library, Brooks County's only public library, is only open one day a week as of 2021.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Welcome to the Ed Rachal Memorial Library Catalog!
|url=https://brookscounty.biblionix.com/catalog/?st=EC0F0D9A05E83461B2018AA609A6DF50
|accessdate=November 2, 2021
|archive-date=November 19, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119141531/https://brookscounty.biblionix.com/catalog/?st=EC0F0D9A05E83461B2018AA609A6DF50
|url-status=live
}}</ref>

In contrast, the Border Patrol has in its Brooks County facility, the largest border checkpoint in the country, modern equipment, dozens of 4-wheel drive trucks with infrared night-vision capabilities, a car wash, a helicopter, a blimp, a canine team, and 300 agents.<ref name="Going" />

===Measures to help the illegal migrants===
* South Texas Human Rights, based in Brooks County, operates a hotline to answer calls about missing persons.<ref name=Brutal/><ref>{{cite news
|title=The other Death Valley: hundreds of migrants are dying in remote Texas deserts. Border patrol agents search for the remains of a deceased migrant on a ranch in Brooks county, Texas. 
|first=Peter
|last=Yeung
|date=August 19, 2022
|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/19/migrant-deaths-border-crossing-texas-mexico-extreme-heat}}</ref>
* Humanitarian groups have set up water stations and emergency beacons on some Brooks County ranches.<ref name=Brutal/> Doing so is illegal, and the Border Patrol sometimes arrests offenders, but jurors in Arizona refused to convict a defendant tried for the same crime.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Eight activists helping migrants cross brutal desert charged by US government. Charges fuel fears of Trump crackdown after Arizona-based group accused border patrol agents of sabotaging water containers
|first=Rory
|last=Carroll
|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/24/us-immigration-activists-arizona-no-more-deaths-charged
|date=January 24, 2018
|access-date=December 3, 2021
|archive-date=November 24, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211124170701/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/24/us-immigration-activists-arizona-no-more-deaths-charged
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|title=Jurors refuse to convict activist facing 20 years for helping migrants. Jury could not reach a verdict against Scott Daniel Warren who was arrested in 2018 for giving migrants water, food and lodging
|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]
|date=June 12, 2019
|author=[[Associated Press]]
|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/11/arizona-activist-migrant-water-scott-daniel-warren-verdict
|access-date=December 3, 2021
|archive-date=December 3, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211203082739/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/11/arizona-activist-migrant-water-scott-daniel-warren-verdict
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Consequently, not all ranchers allow the water stations on their property. Those that do, reduce the likelihood that their property will have dead bodies. 
* The water stations and signs in the fields have their geographical coordinates, so migrants calling for help can tell rescuers where they are.
* Due to property damage, some ranchers have stopped using fencing or placed ladders so the migrants can climb over the fences without damaging them.<ref>{{cite news
|title=South Texas rancher tours desolate brush country where he often sees migrants in distress. John David Franz shows where son found human remains, others hiding and lost
|first=Sandra
|last=Sanchez
|date=May 1, 2019
|url=https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/border-crime/brooks-county-rancher-gives-tour-of-desolate-south-texas-brush-country-where-he-often-sees-migrants/
|newspaper=[[Border Report]]
|access-date=December 1, 2021
|archive-date=December 1, 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201162225/https://www.borderreport.com/hot-topics/border-crime/brooks-county-rancher-gives-tour-of-desolate-south-texas-brush-country-where-he-often-sees-migrants/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> One rancher, however, electrified his fencing with a 220-volt electric line.<ref name="Brutal" />
* Forrest Wilder, editor of the [[Texas Observer]], has called for the Farfurrias Border Patrol Station to be moved to a less dangerous location.<ref>{{cite news
|title=Border and immigration. To save lives, close the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint
|first=Forrest
|last=Wilder
|date=May 20, 2015
|url=https://www.texasobserver.org/end-the-falfurrias-border-patrol-checkpoint/
|newspaper=[[Texas Observer]]}}</ref>

===Measures against the migrants===
* Fourteen water stations were stolen in 2016.<ref name="Kristian">{{cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Kristian |date=June 20, 2016 |title=Human rights center adds water stations as migrant deaths rise |page=5 |newspaper=[[Valley Morning Star]] ([[Harlingen, Texas]]) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90201757/water-stations-for-migrants/}}</ref>
* The South Texans' Property Rights Association, with over 600 members, tracks which landowners permit water stations and which do not.<ref name="Kristian" />
* Texas Border Volunteers, a [[paramilitary]] group, apprehends and turns illegal migrants over to the Border Patrol. A co-founder is veterinarian Michael Vickers, who was in ''[[Missing in Brooks County]].''