At Arizona's border morgue, bodies keep coming

At Arizona's border morgue, bodies keep coming

Updated:
  • Immigration

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By ELLIOT SPAGAT
Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The body of Ildefonso Martinez arrived on a Friday night last April as John Doe. For examiners at the Pima County morgue, his was an unusual case. Not in how he died - making the same journey that has claimed thousands of illegal immigrants - but rather because he was identified so quickly.

The death of migrants crossing the border has long been a tragic consequence of illegal immigration. For some, it is also a motivator in pushing Congress to act this year on immigration reform.

In the last 15 years, at least 5,513 migrants have been found dead along the U.S.-Mexico border, including 463 in fiscal year 2012, the Border Patrol reports.

The Tucson sector located 177 bodies in 2012, including that of Martinez.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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