Two Migrants Rescued in California Mountains near Border

San Diego Sector Border Patrol agents rescued a pair of migrants who became stranded in cold conditions in the mountains near the California border with Mexico.

Local law enforcement officials in the San Diego Border Patrol Sector received a 911 call from two men stranded in the Copper Canyon area near Otay Mesa, California, on March 10. The callers told dispatchers they were cold, wet, and lost deep in the San Ysidro Mountains, according to information obtained from San Diego Sector Border Patrol officials.

Border Patrol agents including members of the elite Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue team prepared to prosecute a nighttime search and rescue operation in dangerous conditions. Fighting off heavy rain that precluded air support and cold conditions in the mountains, the agents located the two men in about 2.5 hours. They found the lost illegal immigrants about two miles north of the border and six miles east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, officials stated.

The agents guided the two men, both Mexican nationals ages 22 and 25, out of the canyon area. There, the agents evaluated their condition and warmed them. The agents arrested the men after determining they were illegally present in the United States and transported them to the Border Patrol station for processing and identification.

“Regardless of nationality or legal status, heroic Border Patrol agents continue to prioritize human life and risk their own safety to secure the safety of others,” said San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke. “This is why BORSTAR’s well-known motto is, “So others may live.”

Border Patrol agents turned the two men over to the custody of the Department of Homeland Security. Under new programs put in place by the Trump administration, the migrants will likely be flown deep into the Mexican interior rather than just across the border.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.