U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a 911 distress call, rescuing two injured and three dehydrated illegal aliens trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border near Old Mine Road and Highway 78 in the El Centro border sector. The rescue resulted from a coordinated search using GPS coordinates from the cell phone used for the call.
Approximately two hours after Border Patrol Radio Dispatch received the distress call, the Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) Unit, in coordination with Air and Marine assets, discovered five illegal aliens attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally.
All five were Mexican citizens, according to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Three were found to be suffering from dehydration and exhaustion, while two others were determined, during a medical evaluation performed by BORSTAR agents, to have sustained injuries from a fall. Once it was determined that two of the men had fractures, they were sent to the hospital for treatment.
The three Mexican nationals who were not sent to the hospital were slated for processing and removal from the country, while the other two were to face the same process upon release from the hospital.
Conditions in Southwest border areas can be very treacherous, especially in the hot summer months. Breitbart reported recently on the deaths of two men being smuggled through the San Ysidro, California, port of entry in the trunk of a car. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found the men in the trunk upon secondary inspection of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle, a U.S. citizen, told authorities that he was to receive $3,500 from smugglers for transporting the two across and dropping them off at a Denny’s in Chula Vista.
Illegal immigrants in the Falfurrias region of Texas are often found dead or near death in the wilderness regions surrounding a border checkpoint on the highway there. Smugglers drop off the illegal immigrants they are transporting before reaching the checkpoint. They tell them it is a short walk around the checkpoint, when in reality, it often takes a good three days. Many are given little water for the journey. Law enforcement officials in that area have estimated they find one in ten bodies of those who die after being left behind by their coyotes. Forty-five have been found dead so far this year, according to a report by Breitbart’s Bob Price.
While many of the illegal immigrants entering the U.S. through the Southwest border with Mexico have been allowed to stay, these are predominantly from non-continuous countries or those countries that do not directly border the United States. Mexico, the country of origin for these five individuals, is considered a continuous country.
According to the CBP release regarding this event, the El Centro Sector engages the community in raising “public awareness on the indicators of crime and other threats.” The release further states, “We encourage public and private sector employees to remain vigilant and play a key role in keeping our country safe.”