Migrant Mother Impaled While Trying To Climb Border Fence with Children, 3 and 5
Actions have consequences … and an incident at the U.S.-Mexico border this weekend sent an alarming message about just how dangerous the consequences of illegal border crossing can be.
The San Ysidro Port of Entry in California, which is situated across from Tijuana, Mexico, has become a hot spot of controversy lately. Over the past week, migrants from Central American caravans have hurled rocks, protested, and tried to surge across the border at this location, which prompted authorities on both sides to use crowd-control measure like tear gas.
On Saturday, the U.S. Border Patrol reported that a woman was injured after she climbed part of the border fence that separates the two countries. As her two young children looked on, she fell and was impaled by pieces of rebar.
According to The San Diego Union-Tribune, Border Patrol Agent Tekae Michael said the 26-year-old woman is Guatemalan and brought her 3- and 5-year-old children with her as she tried to illegally enter the United States.
“The mother climbed the fence east of the port of entry, where construction crews have been working to replace decades-old primary fencing with a new barrier. When she fell, pieces of rebar pierced her side and buttocks,” The Union-Tribune reported.
It’s not clear what the woman’s plan for the two young children was if she had successfully made it over the fence.
“Border Patrol arrived to render medical aid about 8:25 p.m. and requested assistance from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. She was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries,” the newspaper continued.
While she is apparently from Guatemala and climbed the border fence at the same place where hundreds if not thousands of caravan members are rallying, the migrant insisted that she was not part of the caravan. However, it is unclear if that is true.
Falling onto rebar while illegally crossing a fence could have resulted in a grave injury. Luckily for the woman, she received prompt medical care from American first responders and is expected to be fine.
As officials pointed out after the incident, however, the entire ordeal could have been avoided by not trying engaging in criminal activity to begin with.
“Entering our country illegally, particularly over our walls is not only dangerous, but also very foolish,” said Chief Border Patrol Agent Rodney Scott, according to the Union-Tribune.
“This woman placed her own life and her children’s lives in peril. She could have easily died if not for the quick response by our agents and EMS.”
While we’re relieved that the young mother and her children — who are too young to understand what is happening — are going to be OK, this incident once again illustrates how many illegal immigrants are helping neither themselves nor their families with reckless actions.
There are positive and negative ways of dealing with problems, right and wrong responses to bad situations.
Nobody disputes that trying to build lives in Honduras or Guatemala is tough, but that doesn’t mean that dragging children thousands of miles through some of the most dangerous human trafficking territory on the planet is a good plan. Neither is leaving them behind to watch their mother break the law, climb a fence, and become injured.
America will always welcome immigrants who respect the law and are willing to assimilate and contribute. That’s why we already accept a million people legally into the country every year.
But as this incident shows, trying to forcefully break in is not the answer.
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