"In El Paso, heat deaths hit record highs in 2023 and 2024. Advocates say not enough is being done to protect the region’s most vulnerable people."
"EL PASO—Retired Catholic priest Arturo Bañuelas leaned into the microphone as he urged county commissioners to do something about the growing crisis of migrants dying in the desert just miles from the courthouse where he stood.
“These deaths are occurring right here,” Bañuelas said, wearing his white clerical collar under a black shirt and jacket during a January commission meeting. “Close to our homes, churches and community. We cannot turn away.”
El Paso was the most deadly sector of the U.S.-Mexico border in 2024. And it’s not just migrants who are succumbing to extreme heat. Temperatures are rising faster in El Paso than in almost any other U.S. city. And a record 39 deaths were attributed directly or indirectly to heat in El Paso County during 2024.
Among the victims were a 75-year-old aficionado of Lowrider cars found in his trailer, a 39-year-old Army veteran out on a hike and a 27-year-old Guatemalan man who perished after crossing the border."
Martha Pskowski reports for Inside Climate News with photos by Paul Ratje August 17, 2025.
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