Female migrant found dead and four other individuals rescued by Border Patrol agents in Texas after they fell sick due to extreme temperatures
- A woman died at a hospital in Texas after agents from U.S. Border Patrol's Laredo Sector found her sick on a remote area near the United States-Mexico border
- She was one of five people who were tended to by the Border Patrol on Wednesday
- One of the migrants alerted the border agents by accessing a Mobile Rescue Beacon
- The station is solar powered and is one of five that were recently stationed across the region that under the supervision of the Laredo Sector
- Each beacon contain a placard with instructions in English and Spanish for the border crosses in the event they are lost or sick
- All of the stations have a reflector mounted at the end of a metal pole, spinning during the day and lighting up at night to draw the attention of migrants
At least one female migrant died and four others were rescued by the U.S. Border Patrol after the individuals fell ill because of extreme heat encountered during their journey illegally crossing the border with Mexico into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that the migrants had unlawfully entered the U.S. on Wednesday before they got lost between the Texas border towns of El Cenizo and Rio Bravo as the heat topped 100 degreed Fahrenheit.
Agents assigned to the U.S. Border Patrol Laredo Sector's Laredo South Station were alerted by the Laredo Police Department that a woman in the area was in distress. She was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Not that far from where the woman was located, a male migrant was later rescued when he alerted border authorities by utilizing a Mobile Rescue Beacon.
Migrants who need emergency help can press one of the buttons on the solar-powered beacons that the Border Patrol has placed in high-traffic areas and agents will come to help. There are four in the Laredo Sector; it's unclear how many there are along the whole border area.
When they were alerted, agents rushed to the scene with paramedics, who provided medical treatment to the male individual, who was found to be in good health. The sexes of the three other people weren't given - at least one other was female, according to pictures the Border Patrol distributed.
The migrants were then presumably detained or deported; DailyMail.com has contacted the patrol for more details.
U.S. Border Patrol and a paramedic tend to a migrant after the individual fell in and got lost near the United States-Mexico border in Texas on Wednesday. U.S. Customs And Border Protection said in a statement that a total of five migrants were located, but that a female was pronounced dead after she was rushed to a local hospital. (The female pictured isn't the person who died.)
U.S. Border Patrol's Laredo Sector recently placed five Mobile Rescue Beacon in the region it is responsible for protecting near Texas' border with Mexico
Pictured is a placard attached to a Mobile Rescue Beacons with text in Spanish and English with instructions for border crossers who may fall sick or be lost after crossing the Mexico-United States border
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'Yesterday we highlighted Laredo Sector's new Mobile Rescue Beacons (MRB) in national news. Today, this new technology saved a life,' Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Carl E. Landrum said.
'The U.S. Border Patrol will always prioritize human life. It is vital to remember that the only safe place to cross the border is through a designated Port of Entry.'
The Mobile Rescue Beacon are solar-powered stations that are set up along the rough terrain located on the Texas side of the U.S.-Mexico border where many migrants have fallen sick or died because of heat-related illnesses.
A woman was among four people rescued by U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Laredo Sector on Wednesday. The migrants' illnesses were caused by the extreme heat they were exposed to as temperatures soared past 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Each station has a placard with instructions in English and Spanish for the border crosses in the event they are lost or sick. All of the stations contain a reflector mounted at the end of a metal pole. It spins during the day and lights up at night, quickly drawing the attention of migrants who venture illegally across the border.
'It's not that we want them to push the button when they're near death; it's when they're out of water, they're realizing they got in over their head in terms of the journey, that's the time to find one of these, look for it and ask for help,' Laredo Border Patrol Sector Chief Matthew Hudak told KGNS television.
'We obviously encourage people not to make the illegal entry and put their lives at risk, but we want them to know if they see one of these beacons and they're tired, they're out of water, this is the thing to do to summon help, and saving your life is the most important thing at that point.'
This chart shows how 2021 border crossings - pictured in blue - rocketed on crossings made in 2020, represented by the brown line (2018 is pictured in gray, with 2019 in orange)
According to CBP, the Laredo Sector Law Enforcement Information Systems Specialists and the Zapata County Sheriff's Office Dispatch tipped U.S. Border Patrol agents to three other migrants who became sick due to the heat after they got lost in their illegal cross country voyage.
All three migrants were said to be in good health despite being exposed to temperatures that peaked over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
A new monthly report released by CBP on Wednesday showed that Border Patrol agents stopped 180,034 migrants in May, a slight increase from 178,854 the prior month, with the increase driven largely by single adults.
The Laredo Sector, which is responsible for the surveillance of 96 counties and 84,041 square miles along southwest and northeast Texas, saw arrests of migrants rise from 10,926 in April to 76,670 in May.
