Agents assigned to the Del Rio Sector faced the gruesome task of recovering the body of a migrant who drowned while crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico.
Eagle Pass Station marine-based agents came upon the body of a migrant who appeared to drown while crossing the border not far from a port of entry in Eagle Pass, Texas. The agents recovered the body and transported it to the riverbank where a local justice of the peace rendered the statutory death declaration, according to information received from Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials.
Agents were unable to make an identification of the deceased migrant at the scene. A local funeral home took possession of the body and will transport it to a medical examiner for an official cause of death ruling and identification process.
This is the fifth migrant to die in the Del Rio Sector since the new fiscal year began on October 1, 2018.
Most recently, Eagle Pass Station agents recovered the body of another drowned migrant on February 14 not far from the scene where 17 other migrants had been rescued from the dangerous river, Breitbart News reported.
“The recovery of a deceased person is one of the grimmest tasks our agents carry out,” Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak said in a written statement. “This tragic and most recent death highlights the danger and unpredictability of the Rio Grande River.”
Since January 1, at least 23 migrants have died while or shortly after attempting to illegally cross the border from Mexico into Texas, according to the International Organization for Migrants’ Missing Migrant Project. At least four additional migrants died after crossing into Arizona and California.
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 Facebook.