Heat Forces Immigrants to Search for Help

Aug 8, 2013 10:33 PM

HIDALGO COUNTY - The scorching South Texas temperatures are forcing illegal immigrants to come out of the brush to ask for help in the northern fringes of Hidalgo County.

Further north, Brooks County officials said they have recovered seven bodies in eight days. Four of those were discovered Wednesday.

Deputy constables in Hidalgo County Precinct 4 say they have rescued an unusually high number of illegal immigrants during the past two weeks.

Constables said increased Border Patrol activity near the Falfurrias checkpoint means smugglers are dropping off their human cargo further south.

Many immigrants are flagging down deputies for help near the intersection of Highway 281 and FM 1017.

On Thursday, Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Constable Eddie Guerra took a CHANNEL 5 NEWS reporter to the area to witness the phenomenon. The temperature was 115 degrees.

"When we come up on them, they're dehydrated," Guerra said.

Guerra and his deputies have rescued at least 27 illegal immigrants since late July.

"They're giving up. It's either give up, or they know that they're going to die out here in this heat," Guerra said.

Guerra on Thursday spotted two men and a woman walking nearby. The woman had no shoes, only socks. The trio told Guerra they were from Honduras.

"You're a deported felon. I can't let you go," Guerra told one of the immigrants.

"They were just wandering, just waiting. They had no idea what they were going to do. They said they were with a group of 20," Guerra said of the trio.

Guerra detained the three immigrants.

Border Patrol officials also are reporting a spike in the number of immigrants rescued from the South Texas brush. The Rio Grande Valley sector reported 600 rescues so far this year. They also reported 130 deaths.

The agents said they rescued 36 people and recovered 10 bodies in the past 10 days.

http://www.krgv.com/news/heat-forces...arch-for-help/