Border Patrol Rescued Thousands of Migrants from Life-Threatening Situations in 2018
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Friday that Border Patrol agents rescued migrants from life-threatening situations an incredible 4,311 times in the 2018 fiscal year.
According to Breitbart, the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 saw a dramatic increase in rescues by Border Patrol agents.
In the 2017 fiscal year, it said, 3,417 illegal immigrants were rescued along the U.S. border with Mexico.
The first two months of the 2019 fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, showed a 74 percent increase from the same period last year.
The dangerous conditions of migrants who attempt to illegally travel to the U.S. have been highlighted recently after the tragic death of a 7-year-old Guatemalan girl earlier this month.
According to a statement Friday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the girl was with her father at the border when they were stopped for illegal entry into the U.S.
During an initial screening with a Border Patrol officer, she showed no evidence of health issues and the father claimed his daughter was in good health.
Hours later, her father alerted agents that his daughter was not breathing.
A Border Patrol emergency medical technician revived the child twice before she was transported to the nearest hospital.
At the hospital, she went into cardiac arrest and was diagnosed with liver failure before she passed away.
“We cannot stress enough the dangers posed by traveling long distances, in crowded transportation, or in the natural elements through remote desert areas without food, water and other supplies,” the CBP statement said.
“No one should risk injury, or even death, by crossing our border unlawfully,” it said.
CBP went on to list the crises from which Border Patrol agents save migrants, such as “dehydration, heat stroke, hypothermia, drowning in the river, injuries.”
They also rescue people who have been “left for dead by these smugglers in some of the most remote areas of our border as they enter the country illegally,” the agency said.
“Our Agents have world-class rescue and medical training, and are committed to saving those put in distress by callous smugglers,” CBP said.
It urged that Congress disincentivize families from making the dangerous trek to illegally cross the border.
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