Two Migrants Rescued from Southwest Arizona Desert Heat near Border

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents rescued two migrants who became lost in the Arizona desert after illegally crossing the border. Border Patrol teams responded to a 911 call and provided emergency medical assistance.

Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Chris T. Clem tweeted photos showing Border Patrol emergency medical technicians providing intravenous fluids to migrants who became lost in the desert after illegally crossing the Mexican border into southwestern Arizona.

Welton Border Patrol Station officials received a 911 call on May 9 regarding two migrants in distress in the desert. Agents began a search and rescue operation and located the migrants.

The agents assessed the migrants and began providing emergency medical assistance to the two men.

Chief Clem also tweeted a photo on May 10 showing an incident where a human smuggler bailed out of a Cadillac sedan and left the vehicle in drive with migrants still inside. The agent utilized his vehicle to stop the sedan.

A search of the vehicle led to the arrest of six migrants. Officials did not disclose the nationality or other demographic information about the six migrants.

The agents also arrested the driver, a United States citizen in connection with the failed human smuggling incident.

Unofficial migrant apprehension numbers were obtained earlier this month from a source operating under the umbrella of U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealing that Yuma Sector agents apprehended approximately 27,000 migrants in April.

Combined with official CBP reports, Yuma Sector agents apprehended 176,000 migrants during the current fiscal year which began on October 1, 2021. This represents an increase of nearly 600 percent over the previous year during the same period.