On Oct. 12, 2023, at approximately 11:03 p.m., Border Patrol agents assigned to the U.S. Border Patrol Station in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, received a request for assistance from Department of Defense (DOD) personnel regarding a woman in medical distress near their assigned post approximately three miles east of the Santa Teresa Station. DOD personnel requested by radio that Emergency Medical Services respond to the location. The woman was later determined to be an undocumented migrant and citizen of Ecuador.
At 11:17 p.m., the first Border Patrol agent arrived. Four minutes later, a Border Patrol agent EMT arrived and conducted a trauma assessment to identify any possible injuries. The agent EMT reported that the woman appeared to be in and out of consciousness displaying similar symptoms to a stroke or seizure. American Medical Response EMS personnel arrived at approximately 11:33 p.m. and assumed primary medical care of the woman. EMS transported her to The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus at approximately 11:45 p.m., where she was admitted for further medical treatment. Border Patrol agents then established hospital watch.
On Oct. 13, Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) special agents were notified that the woman had been found in medical distress and hospitalized by Santa Teresa Station management. The Hospitals of Providence Memorial Campus staff advised OPR special agents that she had been admitted due to bleeding in her brain and that a care plan was being developed. A humanitarian parole was issued on Oct. 14 due to the woman’s medical condition, and Santa Teresa Station personnel discontinued the hospital watch.
Hospital medical personnel advised CBP’s OPR that the woman was pronounced deceased at approximately 4:10 p.m. on Oct. 22. The El Paso County Office of the Medical Examiner advised CBP’s OPR that an autopsy would not be conducted.
The incident is under review by CBP’s OPR. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General was also notified.