El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents rescued two migrants from drowning in a canal that runs along the California-Mexico border. The rescues occurred as separate incidents. Agents found a third person who drowned in the canal.
Agents assigned to the Calexico Station patrolling near the All-American Canal on Wednesday morning heard a call for help coming from the waterway. A quick search revealed a migrant woman struggling to stay afloat in the canal, according to information provided by El Centro Sector Border Patrol officials.
The agents immediately responded and pulled the woman to safety. The agents performed an initial medical evaluation of the woman and determined she was suffering from shock and hypothermia, officials said. The agents summoned an ambulance and paramedics transported her to a local hospital for further evaluation and treatment.
Before being transported, the woman told the agents that another person was in the water and was having a hard time swimming. The agents called for Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue agents to assist in a search for the missing migrant. A few hours later, divers found a deceased migrant under the water’s surface.
“For the second time in three days, our agents rescued people from the All-American Canal,” Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim said in a written statement. “It’s regrettable that our agents were not able to get to the individual who drowned. Smuggling organizations are sending some of these individuals to their deaths by leading them to cross these dangerous waters.”
Chief Kim referred to a rescue carried out by Calexico Station agents who risked their lives to save a man who was near drowning in the canal Monday evening.
Around 6 p.m., agents using surveillance technology observed three migrants wading into the All-American Canal about 12 miles east of the Calexico Port of Entry. Agents responded to the area and observed three men swimming north in the canal.
As the agents approached, they apprehended one of the migrants. The other two attempted to swim back to Mexico. The agents observed one of the men having difficulty making his way across. They called out to the man to come toward them for assistance.
Agents reported that cartel-connected human smugglers yelled at the man telling him to ignore the Border Patrol agents. Attempts by the agents to deploy rescue devices that could pull the man to safety failed. As the migrant began to panic and show signs of exhaustion, the agents recognized he was in imminent danger of drowning.
The agents removed their body armor and duty belts and jumped into the water to rescue the migrant. They successfully pulled him to the shore and began medical evaluation of the subject.
The migrant’s body temperature stabilized quickly and the 19-year-old Mexican national refused further treatment.
“Our Border Patrol agents disregarded the danger to their own lives the frigid, swift-moving water posed and entered to save the life of a man they believed had just committed a crime,” Chief Kim stated. “This is the type of selfless service our agents do regularly, no matter who is in need, to preserve the sanctity of human life.”
The agents transported the two migrants to the station for processing on immigration violations. The third man made it back to Mexico safely.
The International Organization for Migrants’ Missing Migrant Project reports that at least 19 migrants have been found dead in incidents connected to smuggling migrants across the border into the U.S.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for the Breitbart Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Face
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