SAN DIEGO -- A new report shows the number people dying at the U.S.-Mexico border is increasing because of the U.S.'s border policy.

According to the report, more than 5,000 people in the past 15 years have died while trying to get into the U.S. anywhere between Texas and California.

The American Civil Liberties Union sent their own report to the Commission on Human Rights. It said the border fences and increased patrols are forcing illegal immigrants to cross into the U.S. in places that could kill them.

Rafael Hernandez is looking for hundreds of people. In the past week, he has received 150 e-mails asking him to find missing loved ones.

"Father, mother, wife, kids, brothers, sisters," said Hernandez, who operates Angeles del Desierto (Angels of the Desert), an organization that looks for missing immigrants, whether alive or dead.

Kevin Keenan of the ACLU said most of the responsibility lies on the immigrants.

"But there's also a U.S. government strategy to make that crossing more dangerous," said Keenan.

The strategy, called "Operation Gatekeeper," has added to the border fence and increased border patrols. Keenan said it has forced immigrants to cross further out in the desert or in dangerous terrain.

"And this failed strategy has made deaths much more likely than they used to be," said Keenan.

The ACLU's report suggested short-term solutions: providing federal funding for non-governmental groups like Hernandez's and a shift in duty for border agents.

"Existing Border Patrol resources could be shifted better to search and rescue, rather than just enforcement," said Keenan.

A spokesman from Rep. Duncan Hunter's office told 10News changing Operation Gatekeeper would do more harm than good.

"The reality is that infrastructure and other methods of enforcement have been overwhelmingly successful. And, in the interest of safety and security, we must strengthen, not weaken, our border enforcement efforts," Hunter's spokesman said.

Hernandez finds himself stuck in the middle. He said he understands the U.S.'s desire to protect the border, but he still feels compelled to find the missing -- alive or dead.

The U.S. Border Patrol declined to comment on 10News' story.