EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector agents work alongside law enforcement partners to assist migrants placed in life threatening situations by smugglers.
Friday evening, Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station agents were advised of two subjects running from the Rio Grande towards an awaiting vehicle in Roma, Texas. A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper responded to the activity and encountered the vehicle driving erratically through a neighborhood. As the trooper approached the suspect vehicle, a female jumped out of the moving vehicle. Moments later, a second subject was seen exiting the vehicle and absconded into the nearby area. The vehicle finally came to a stop near Matamoros Avenue. The driver, a U.S. Citizen, admitted he was on federal probation for narcotic and human smuggling. EMS was requested for the female subject that injured herself jumping out of the vehicle. Agents reported the female lost consciousness during her medical evaluation. The Guatemalan national was transported to the hospital where she was treated for a leg injury. The second subject was not located.
Saturday morning, the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station received a call from a Salvadoran national claiming his 9-year-old brother was part of a group attempting to circumvent the checkpoint and could no longer continue walking. The smuggler abandoned the 9-year-old in the brush and provided coordinates to where he could be found. Agents were immediately dispatched to search the area. Within an hour, agents were able to locate the Salvadoran child who was found with his mother. The subjects were taken to the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station to be medically assessed.
Later that morning, a U.S. Coast Guard riverine unit patrolling the Rio Grande near La Joya, Texas, encountered a raft with three subjects in the middle of the river. The smugglers on the Mexican riverbanks started pulling the raft back causing the migrants to fall overboard. Two of the subjects were able to arrive safely on the U.S. riverbank, however, one individual immediately began to submerge and yell for help. The Coast Guard crewmen successfully retrieved the distressed migrant and ferried him to shore where awaiting agents evaluated him.
Sunday morning, a Coast Guard riverine unit patrolling the Rio Grande near Mission, Texas, encountered a male subject struggling to hold onto a log in the middle of the river. The subject was attempting to utilize his shirt filled with water bottles to stay afloat. The Coast Guard vessel commander was able to position the vessel close enough to quickly pull him on board to safety. The Mexican national was transported to a boat dock in Mission, Texas, where he was medically assessed by Border Patrol agents.
The public is encouraged to take a stand against crime in their communities and report suspicious activity at 800-863-9382.
Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.