El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents joined a National Guard helicopter aircrew to rescue two lost migrants in the Jacumba Mountains. The migrants claimed to be lost and in distress after being abandoned by human smugglers.
Border Patrol dispatchers in the El Centro Sector received a 911 call from a man who said he and another man were lost in the mountains and needed help.
Border Patrol agents responded to the area by utilizing the GPS information dispatchers obtained from the lost migrant’s cell phone. The ground-based agents requested assistance from a National Guard helicopter aircrew working Border Patrol assistance missions in Southern California.
The helicopter crew began a search of the area and located the two men. The crew managed to land the Blackhawk and Border Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents got out and provided medical screening to the two men. The agents determined the two men needed no further medical assistance.
An immigration interview by the agents identified the two men as Mexican nationals who were illegally present in the United States, officials stated. The agents arrested the two men and transported them to the El Centro Sector rally point.
Under Title 42 Coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most migrants are taken to a rally point instead of a detention facility. At the rally point, the migrants receive a medical screening and agents conduct a criminal background check. Once cleared, the migrants are quickly expelled to Mexico. Most are expelled within two hours of being apprehended, CBP officials previously told Breitbart Texas.
The number of illegal immigrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing the border from Mexico fell by more than 60 percent this fiscal year compared to last, CBP reports indicate. Despite that, CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan told Breitbart Texas in a July interview that Border Patrol agents and Air and Marine Operations aircrews teamed up to rescue more than 4,000 people this fiscal year. He said the agents are on pace to exceed last year’s record number of rescues. In all of Fiscal Year 2019, which ended on September 30, 2019, agents rescued at least 4,900 migrants, Breitbart Texas reported.
“It is very disheartening how little coverage migrant rescues get in the press,” Morgan told Breitbart Texas. “Our agents put their own lives at risk to save others who illegally enter the U.S. In addition to being exposed to the same elements that put these migrants at risk, the agents also face possible exposure to the Coronavirus because of the close contact required in rescue operations.”
“Despite this,” the commissioner said, “our agents continue to go out every day to save lives and protect the public.”
As of July 31, Border Patrol agents working along the southwest border with Mexico rescued more than 4,100 migrants. This compares to 3,854 during the same period in FY19, according to CBP reports. In addition, CBP Air and Marine Operations aircrews carried out 186 rescues (up from 126 YTD last year).
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.