Thread: RGV Border Patrol reports dramatic rise in immigrant rescues

Video at source link.
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BORSTAR agents specialize in search, trauma, rescue

By Jessie Degollado - Reporter
Posted: 9:45 PM, August 13, 2015
Updated: 2:10 PM, August 14, 2015

FALFURRIAS, Texas - In just the past month, nearly a dozen immigrants were rescued in the Rio Grande Valley during the hottest and deadliest time of the year.

Among them was a woman who survived being bitten by a rattlesnake on her ankle.

They are among the 98 percent increase in rescues to date during the current fiscal year ending in October, according to Oscar Saldana, spokesman for the Rio Grande Valley sector of U.S. Border Patrol.

Saldana said of the 638 people rescued, only 30 suffered from the heat.

Whatever the circumstances, many times, Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue agents, who undergo rigorous training, respond to the rescues, since all of them are emergency medical technicians, with some specializing as paramedics.

Saldana said 25 BORSTAR agents are assigned to the Rio Grande Valley sector.

Earlier this month outside Falfurrias, a team of BORSTAR agents were called upon to assist in finding a group of immigrants lost somewhere in Brooks County.

The area is notorious for its heavy sandy soil, thick brush and triple digit temperatures that result in many dying as they head northward.

BORSTAR agent Isaac David said his K-9 Igor picked up a scent in a shady clearing. Seven men and one woman from Mexico and El Salvador emerged, obviously overcome by the heat.

“They’re done. You can tell physically, and they’re just exhausted,” David said.

He said they virtually went without food or water for six days.

They complained of feeling sick to their stomachs. He said they drank from their jugs filled with filthy pond water “that’s normally allocated for cattle and livestock.”

Dozens of small frogs could be seen jumping from the shore into the pond, but when a person is dying of thirst, said one man, “You get desperate.”

Another said he was disappointed they had been caught but happy they were being given small cups of fresh water by the BORSTAR agents.

An unidentified immigrant said others waiting to cross illegally should think twice, because it’s hard to do.

“You could die here,” he said.

Several in the group said they were aware of the risk, but as one said, “The money more than anything and necessity of helping our families are why we come.”

In addition to the those who died or were rescued in the heat or in the Rio Grande, others would occur due to exposure, hidden in the trunks of vehicles and trailers, or were involved vehicle accidents.

http://www.ksat.com/news/rgv-border-...igrant-rescues

Originally Posted by Jean

Several in the group said they were aware of the risk, but as one said, “The money more than anything and necessity of helping our families are why we come.”

Yep. It's all about money.

The Repub leadership huffs and puffs about 'Bama's executive amnesty, but the leadership's big money donors want more surplus labor, to keep wages down.

If we want to preserve American jobs for Americans, we'll have to remove the jobs magnet. The best way to do that is to enact Universal E-Verify. Once the word gets out that illegals can no longer undercut Americans for jobs, most of them will stop sneaking in to our country.
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Americans first in this magnificent country

American jobs for American workers

Fair trade, not free trade