Migrants warned not to venture into California desert as temps hit 117

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Carlos was happy he didn’t die after crossing the border and tried to walk across the California desert.

Border Report recently found him in a shelter for migrants in Mexicali, Baja California, about 120 miles east of San Diego.

He was mixing a small packet of sodium and other minerals with water and planned on drinking it as a way to overcome dehydration.

“It was hard,” said Carlos in Spanish about his failed journey into the U.S. “I’m totally dehydrated feel like lying down and staying in bed for three to four days.”

Carlos, who is from the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, was hoping to make it to the United States for work. He said it’s a trek he’s made several times in past years.

After crossing the border, he realized he did not have enough water and was happy to get picked up by Border Patrol agents who expelled him back to Mexicali.

“It was hot,” he said.

Mexicali city officials are asking migrants to remain in shelters and not venture north of the border in the coming days when temperatures are expected to reach 117.

“This is an extreme for us, we’ve never been in a place like this where it’s so hot, for me this is an unknown,” said Jami, a migrant from El Salvador.

Jami said she will listen to the warnings and remain in the shelter where she’s been for the past month.

“This is a city of immigrants,” said Mexicali Mayor Norma Bustamante. “A lot of people pass through and don’t know this type of climate and it’s a lot of people who dare cross the desert to the United States.”

Bustamante says her city has opened several “hydration centers” where people can cool off in the air conditioning, take a shower or even grab a shave.

They are also passing out sodium packets to migrants and residents to keep hydrated.

“The last report I got stated 10 people have died recently because of the hot weather,” Bustamante said.

She says her administration is asking everyone, not just migrants, to remain indoors and not go outside for the immediate future.