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Border Deaths Drop To 15-Year Low

The number of immigrants who die trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border has dropped to the lowest level in 15 years.

That is as because more Central Americans are turning themselves in to authorities in Texas and fewer are taking their chances with the dangerous trek across the Arizona desert.

The U.S. government recorded 307 deaths in the 2014 fiscal year that ended in September — the lowest number since 1999. In 2013, the number of deaths was 445.

The numbers, obtained by The Associated Press, mark the first time since 2001 that Arizona has not been the deadliest place to cross the border. The Tucson sector recorded 107 deaths, compared to 115 deaths along Texas' Rio Grande Valley sector.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.