Search teams and Pima County's medical examiner recovered the remains of 19 migrants in southern Arizona in July 2026, the highest monthly total in two years, after 13 in June. At least 73 people have been found in Arizona so far in 2026, compared with 59 at this point in 2025 and 103 for all of last year, bringing the toll to more than 4,500 in southern Arizona over 25 years. Five of the July dead had died less than a day earlier, two within a week, and four within three months; others had been in the desert far longer. Most died of dehydration and exposure, with others lost to hypothermia, drowning, or blunt force trauma. Volunteer search-and-rescue groups, Border Patrol agents, landowners, and hikers found the remains. Humane Borders and researchers at UC Davis say the true toll is likely higher because remains decompose and scatter quickly, and they link the deaths to the decades-old 'prevention through deterrence' strategy that pushed crossings into remote desert, and to the Supreme Court's June ruling on metering, which advocates say pushes more asylum seekers away from ports of entry. Humane Borders calls the deaths preventable and urges expanded legal pathways; its water stations in the Sonoran Desert serve migrants, hikers, and Border Patrol agents alike.