19 Migrants Abandoned by Smugglers in Arizona Desert

Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona prevented the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants after human smugglers abandoned them in the desert on Sunday morning. BORSTAR agents provided emergency medical assistance to one of the men who had to be transported by air ambulance to a hospital. Seven other migrants set off an emergency beacon prompting their rescue and 11 were found wandering lost in the desert.

Tucson Sector agents tracked a group of 12 migrants who had illegally crossed the border from Mexico. One of the agents found a 34-year-old Guatemalan man who had fallen and sustained serious head and shoulder injuries, according to information provided to Breitbart Texas by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials.

The agent summoned a helicopter from CBP’s Air and Marine Operations unit (AMO). BORSTAR agents responded with the aircrew and provided immediate medical assistance to the Guatemalan man who they found severely dehydrated.

The AMO aircrew flew the injured man to an awaiting air ambulance. The ambulance transported the Guatemalan man to a Tucson hospital while the BORSTAR agents returned to the original evacuation site to further assist agents on the ground.

The Tucson Sector agents found 11 additional migrants who had been abandoned by their human smugglers. Two of these required medical assistance for dehydration.

Agents transported the 11 migrants to the Tucson Station for processing and background checks, officials stated. The injured man will be processed after medical treatment.

On Saturday, agents assigned to the Ajo Station found seven illegal immigrants abandoned in the desert by their human smugglers. The migrants managed to find one of 34 rescue beacons placed in the desert by Border Patrol in an attempt to prevent migrant deaths.

Agents reported the seven Mexican nationals ranged in age from 25 to 44. The agents transported the seven men to the Ajo Station for processing and background checks.

During Fiscal Year 2017, Tucson Sector agents responded to 750 migrants who set off the beacons to avoid death in the dangerous conditions of the desert, officials reported.

During the first two months of 2018, Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officials recovered the remains of 12 in the desert, Breitbart Texas reported.