Arizona ground zero for immigration

TUCSON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- The Arizona desert along the U.S. border with Mexico is the immigration issue battleground as funds and workers pour into the region to tackle the crisis.

Border Patrol agents in Tucson said they shift their strategy from law enforcement to search and rescue during the summer months as the heat kills scores of immigrants trying to cross the border.

The agents also scour the area for terrorist who may use the area as a transit route for to enter the United States undetected. This effort costs the United States roughly $6 billion a year but hasn't produced any arrests, the Waco (Texas) Tribune-Herald said Monday.

"Coyotes" offering a guide to migrants into the United States charge as much as $2,000 and humanitarian workers leave water and supplies for those attempting the journey.

Bruce Parks, the Pima County, Ariz., Medical Examiner, estimated his office incurs an additional $100,000 to $200,000 per year on border-crossers and said the county purchased a refrigerated freight truck to house the overflow of bodies.

Lawmakers in Washington, however, fail to pass reforms to curb the flow of illegal immigrants as employers across the United States employ undocumented workers without consequence, the newspaper said.