Drownings along Rio Grande spike as immigrants wade into weed-choked canals to avoid detection

In this Feb. 24, 2015 photo, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine agents patrol along the Rio Grande on the Texas-Mexico border near Rio Grande City, Texas. Drowning deaths have spiked since last fall as a surge of law enforcement along the Mexico border prompts immigrants, desperate to avoid detection by a surge of law enforcement, to choose more dangerous and remote crossings into South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (The Associated Press)

EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT: In this Feb. 24, 2015 photo, Mexican officials examine a body, lower center in the water, discovered by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine while on patrol near the Texas-Mexico border, in Rio Grande City, Texas. Five bodies were found at the scene. Drowning deaths have spiked since last fall as a surge of law enforcement along the Mexico border prompts immigrants, desperate to avoid detection by a surge of law enforcement, to choose more dangerous and remote crossings into South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2015 file aerial photo, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent smooths a dirt road along the Rio Grande River on the Texas-Mexico border, near Rio Grande City, Texas. Drowning deaths have spiked since last fall as a surge of law enforcement along the Mexico border prompts immigrants, desperate to avoid detection by a surge of law enforcement, to choose more dangerous and remote crossings into South Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File) (The Associated Press)