By LAURENCE ILIFF and ALFREDO CORCHADO / The Dallas Morning News

MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government is stepping up efforts to dissuade would-be immigrants from using high-risk methods to enter the United States, after
this week's discovery of a cargo trailer in which people died near Victoria, Texas, officials said.

As part of the initiative, President Vicente Fox sent a high-ranking Foreign Ministry official to the Sonora-Arizona border Friday to kick off the government's
summer immigrant safety program.

The deputy foreign minister for North America, Gerónimo Gutiérrez, will make his first stop at the Tohono O'Odham Indian reservation in Sasabe, Ariz. – a desert
region that has become popular for immigrants trying to avoid the U.S. Border Patrol.

"The campaign consists of radio and television spots to alert Mexican immigrants about the principal risks of crossing in the desert, mountains, rivers and canals,"
Mr. Fox's office said.

"Likewise, our citizens will be informed of the dangers of traveling in the trunks of automobiles, containers or trailers," said the statement. Pamphlets will be given
out along the border.

About 350 Mexican immigrants die every year trying to cross the border.

As the hot summer months begin and crossing-related deaths are likely to rise, the Foreign Ministry is also trying to warn residents in Mexico's interior.

The actions along the border and in the interior are part of an ongoing federal effort that will now include state and local governments in order to reach more
people, more quickly and to share some of the costs, officials said.

Since a U.S. border crackdown, immigrant deaths have risen as crossers take greater risks.

"We want to do everything we can to educate our people of the risks that await them," said Roberto Rodríguez, head of consular services for the Foreign Ministry.
"The tragedy in Victoria compelled us to start our campaign earlier this year because of what may await us this summer."