FALFURRIAS, Texas–Breitbart Texas witnessed the capture of an illegal immigrant who decided to surrender himself after experiencing the heat and difficult conditions of marching through the sand in the ranch fields near Falfurrias, Texas. Shortly after the capture of the 22-year-old man from Guatemala, a NBC news crew arrived on the scene with another deputy from the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office.
Breitbart Texas has been engaging in a series of ride-alongs with the non-paid police officers who are volunteering their time to work as Brooks County deputy sheriffs. During the excursion with Breitbart Texas on July 14, Deputy Daniel Walden observed a man walking on the northbound shoulder of Highway 281 about a mile and a half south of the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint. The man flagged down our patrol vehicle to request assistance.
Breitbart Texas learned from Walden’s interrogation of the man that he was a Guatemalan man who was headed to Houston. He had a partially filled bottle of Gatorade with him but said he had not eaten for over a day. The temperature at the time was about 98 degrees. He was hiking in an area that is known to have very soft sand which makes the march even more difficult.
The man told Walden he had a five-year-old boy in Guatemala along with his wife. He was headed to Houston because he was told he could get work there and he would be able to send money home to his family. He had been on the road for a month when he was found.
Walden, who is also a trained medic, gave the man some water to drink and crackers to eat.
Shortly after this, the NBC affiliate news crew arrived with another deputy who was showing them around Brooks County. They had heard the report of our contact with the illegal immigrant on the police radio. Breitbart Texas had met the crew who said they were from Raleigh, North Carolina, the day before at Anzalduas Park in Misson, Texas along the Rio Grande River.
The reporter then sat down with the immigrant and interviewed him in Spanish.
Breitbart Texas has been working closely with the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office to raise public awareness of the severe problems this county, located about one hundred miles from the border, faces every day. Each day about 150 illegal immigrants are captured in their county which includes the town of Falfurrias. About every second or third day during the summer heat season, a body of an illegal immigrant is found in the county and must be processed and buried at the county’s expense. It was rewarding to see the NBC affiliate following Breitbart Texas’ lead to come provide additional coverage of this human tragedy.
Deputy Walden is a volunteer reserve deputy for Brooks County. In his regular job, he serves as acting police chief of the Donna Independent School District Police Department. He has organized the Border Brotherhood of Texas, a group of sworn police officers who are volunteering their time to help the distressed Brooks County Sheriff’s Office.
Bob Price is a staff writer and a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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