U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement officials recovered the bodies of 10 illegal aliens during a recent South Texas cold snap. Weather forecasters predict additional nights of dangerous weather conditions for the Christmas holiday week.

“Illegal immigrants are victimized and lied to by smugglers who lead them through treacherous terrain and expose them to extreme conditions,” Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. said in a written statement. “Those unable to keep up are left behind; some are rescued by Border Patrol agents but, tragically, we don’t find others until it is too late.”

Between December 7 and 14, agents assigned to the Falfurrias Station worked with deputies from the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office to recover eight of the ten bodies found during this period. The trail of death began near Falfurrias on Thursday, December 7, officials stated. Agents were called to the scene to recover two corpses found by ranchers.

That same day, agents working near Norias, Texas, came upon an illegal alien in distress. After agents administered medical treatments, the migrant lost consciousness. Doctors pronounced the them dead at a local hospital.

The following day, Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents airlifted a female illegal alien found unconscious by Border Patrol agents on a ranch near Hidalgo, Texas. Unfortunately, the female (age undisclosed) died on route to the hospital.

Back in Brooks County, agents found two additional illegal aliens who died while trying to circumvent the Falfurrias Checkpoint. Human smugglers frequently put their cargo out into the brush to make the dangerous, and often fatal, trip around the checkpoint.

A few days later, ranchers near Falfurrias found two more abandoned by their smugglers and left to die. During the recovery of the bodies, an AMO aircrew observed a third deceased migrant. Brooks County deputies and a local justice of the peace responded. The justice of the peace pronounced the three individuals at the scene.

On Thursday, December 14, Falfurrias agents working on patrol in one of the local ranches discovered the body of another deceased migrant.

“Normally, we see our high fatality rates in the summer months,” Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez told Breitbart Texas. “This unusually cold month has proven to be as deadly as the summer heat. We had nine deaths in seven days.”

Martinez said that 52 deceased migrants have been found in his county during 2017. With another cold snap approaching next week, the county could possibly exceed its 2016 total of 61 deaths.

As the next snap of dangerous weather approaches, Martinez said he is coordinating with Border Patrol officials to provide an increased patrol presence on the highways. “If we can stop them for a few days we can save some lives,” the sheriff explained. “We will do everything we can to intercept them on the roadways before they drop them off.”

“There is no compassion from these ruthless human smugglers,” Martinez said. “Hot or cold, they do not care. Fall behind and they will leave you to die.”