The U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson sector has changed its methods for counting of illegal immigrant deaths, dramatically increasing the number for this fiscal year by 21, to at least 100.

The change reflects a decision to count some bodies or remains previously found by other law enforcement agencies or only recorded by medical examiners.

The change brings the Border Patrol’s death count closer to the numbers tallied by some human rights organizations, activist groups and newspapers that have accused the agency of providing an inaccurate picture of how many people are dying trying to cross the deserts, mainly in search of jobs in this country.

The Tucson sector covers most of the Arizona-Mexico border and is the busiest point along the 2,000-mile frontier with Mexico for illegal immigrant traffic, including record deaths in desert areas in recent years, many heat-related.

It accounted for the vast bulk of 177 migrant deaths along the entire Arizona-Mexico border during the 2004 fiscal year; the Border Patrol’s Yuma sector listed only 21 of those.

Other groups, using medical examiners’ figures, had tabulated 221 deaths of migrants during the same 12 months that began Oct. 1, 2003 and ended Sept. 30.

“We’ve gone back to the beginning of the fiscal year and believe the number is 100 — plus 21 — and probably 101, from another death Thursday” that has not been confirmed, said Michael Nicley, chief of the Tucson sector.

“The numbers need to be accurate. The coroners’ offices, public agencies that find them take no responsibility for notifying us. We’re taking responsibility for trying to get the numbers,” Mr. Nicley added.

Mr. Nicley said the new policy will involving weekly checks and monthly double-checks with the medical examiners’ offices in Pima and Santa Cruz counties, who also process Yuma and Cochise counties’ desert deaths, respectively. Examiners in those counties typically identify those who’ve died as suspected migrants.

Community Pressure Over Policy

Jennifer Allen, executive director of the community activist group Border Action Network, said the move “shows that the agency can and should respond to the calls and the pressures from community groups and those that are monitoring the deadly impact of border policy.”

Ms. Allen said the Border Patrol “didn’t do this out of concern of accurately reflecting the impact of their policies. They did this out of pressure from groups that are concerned by the policy.”

Because of the sheer numbers of migrant deaths in Arizona — more than half the 325 recorded by the entire Border Patrol last fiscal year — Mr. Nicley said he was not aware that sectors outside the state face a similar problem.

Mr. Nicley said his sector will continue to follow protocols set forth in the Border Safety Initiative, an internal policy. It defines the death of an undocumented migrant as a person who was “in furtherance of an illegal entry” or “in transit” within any of five counties in Arizona and 45 nationwide, or, outside those areas, where Border Patrol agents were directly involved.

4 Counties Line Border

Arizona’s border counties are Cochise, Santa Cruz, Pima and Yuma. Pinal and Maricopa counties are considered transit corridors for many migrants walking north.

Mr. Nicley said his agency had erred in not counting previously bodies found by other law enforcement officers, including the Tohono O’odham police, and possibly some skeletal remains.

“I think there was a perception where as soon as we would come out with a number, people would say we’re undercounting… That’s not the goal. The goal is to tell people this is what we believe it is, and quite frankly how we deploy resources and rescue equipment is based upon” the number of deaths in an area. —

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