Since El Paso joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star border enforcement mission in late 2022, migrant deaths in the El Paso sector have increased dramatically. From January 2023 to August 2024, 299 human remains were reported in the El Paso sector—the deadliest of any border sector and more than double the 122 remains found in the 20 months before the operation began. The increase is partly attributed to migrants taking more dangerous routes around urban areas in response to visible law enforcement presence. Volunteer search groups and nonprofit organizations like No Más Muertes continue to discover bodies in the New Mexico desert west of El Paso, with many remains unidentified for months.