Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents moved quickly to rescue a group of five migrants who were struggling with the swiftly moving currents of the Rio Grande. One agent jumped into the water to save a woman having trouble staying afloat in the river that separates Texas and Mexico.
Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted a video late last week showing a group of migrants struggling in the Rio Grand as they attempted to illegally cross the border. The Border Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents used flotation devices and one agent jumped into the river to save a woman’s life.
“Grab her, grab her, grab her,” one of the marine unit agents tells another agent shortly before he jumps off the boat and into the Rio Grande. The woman appeared to go underwater a couple of times and tried to climb on top of another migrant before the agent jumped in to rescue her.
Another woman is seen going underwater before grabbing the side of the Border Patrol boat. In total, the agents pulled five migrants out of the water in this single incident.
“Water levels in the Rio Grande are high & currents are unpredictable making crossing the river extremely dangerous,” Chief Owens tweeted. “Your life is worth more. Don’t Cross Illegally!”
During the past two weeks, agents rescued dozens of migrants in distress as they dealt with the unpredictable currents of the border river. At least 13 migrants drowned in a single border crossing incident, Breitbart Texas reported.
Chief Owens warned one week ago that continuing rains in the area are increasing the already strong currents of the Rio Grande in the Eagle Pass area.
“This is a warning of extreme importance; the currents of the Rio Grande have become more dangerous due to recent and continuing rainfall and more rain is forecasted for the coming week.” Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens said in a statement provided to Breitbart Texas. “Despite these adverse conditions, U.S. Border Patrol, Del Rio Sector continues to encounter large groups of more than 100+, 200+ attempting to cross the Rio Grande daily.”
The size of the groups continues to increase. On the day Owens tweeted the video above, two migrant groups totaling 800 migrants crossed the Rio Grande, Breitbart Texas reported. The groups crossed during a three-hour period.
On Friday, a single group of nearly 600 migrants, Breitbart’s Randy Clark reported.
The Del Rio Sector is far and away the busiest of the nine Border Patrol sectors along the Mexico-U.S. border. In August, a report reviewed by Breitbart Texas revealed that more than 52,000 migrants crossed into the sector, Breitbart reported.
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.