Illegal immigrants attempting to circumvent the Border Patrol checkpoint in Falfurrias, Texas, are dying in higher numbers due to the recent heat wave. Brooks County officials report the number of dead bodies recovered this year is up over last year. This week, three bodies were found in a single day.
Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez told Breitbart Texas he is very concerned about the death toll potential as they move into the hottest months of the year. “We are at 24 (bodies recovered) so far this year,” Sheriff Martinez said. “This is well ahead of where we were this time last year and we ended last year with 61.”
Martinez said the numbers of people migrating through the county’s rural area is down because border crossings are dramatically down. “However, because the cartel-connected human smugglers are move vigilant about our patrols and that of Border Patrol agents, they are dropping their people off further south and west.”
“That means they have further to walk, more days in the fields,” the sheriff explained. “The longer they are out there, the more at risk they are. These coyotes don’t care about the people they smuggle. If they fall behind or become injured, they are just left behind to die.”
Border Patrol Supervisory Agent Marlene Castro reported that they also rescued several migrants in the brush this week. Kingsville and Falfurrias agents rescued four subject who had been left behind by human smugglers. Three of them were found after they called 911 for assistance. One of those, an Ecuadorian national, had to be transported to a hospital for immediate medical attention.
Castro described the scene where three deceased aliens were found at various locations in the Rio Grande Valley Sector on Tuesday. In the first, agents in Brooks County arrested one migrant who had been abandoned by the smugglers and left to die. That migrant reported that his traveling companion had died from the heat. He led the agents back to his fallen comrade.
Less than one and a half hours later, agents received a call about another body discovered on a ranch near Falfurrias. When agents arrived at the scene, they determined the person had died from heat exposure and dehydration. Agents found no identifying documents but did recover a cell phone. Cell phone coverage in parts of Brooks County is very weak. It is possible the person was unable to call for assistance.
Later that day, agents assigned to the Hebbronville Station were tracking a group of illegal aliens when they came across another deceased migrant. This one was also in Brooks County. Agents gathered the personal belongings of the deceased migrant but found no identifying documents.
Castro said their agents are on high alert because of the increasing temperatures that are now reaching into the high nineties.
While happy they were able to save four people they rescued in Kingsville and Falfurrias, they are very concerned about the potential for more deaths as the heat continues to rise.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.