A Texas Sheriff’s Grim Task: Finding Bodies as Migrant Deaths Surge

After working in oil fields, Oscar Carrillo eyed the stability of law enforcement or funeral work. As a border sheriff, he is doing both.

VAN HORN, Texas — Like many other West Texas sheriffs, Oscar E. Carrillo packs a gun, drives a truck and wears a cowboy hat. But it is his newest piece of gear, a corpse trolley, that has him questioning whether to remain a lawman. “It’s so we don’t have to hand carry the remains anymore,” Sheriff Carrillo, 56, explained as he described the list of dead migrants turning up on his watch. “I used to request regular stuff like bulletproof vests,” he said. “Now I’m asking for more body bags.”