Moment Border Patrol agent rescues Guatemalan migrant boy from drowning as he was trying to cross into the United States and nearly went under

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection camera showed the heroic effort of a U.S. Border Patrol agent who rescued a Guatemalan boy from drowning Saturday
Agents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector's McAllen Station were patrolling an area near Penitas, Texas, when they spotted the child struggling to stay afloat
The agent, who has not been named, tied a rope around his waist and was able to help the child to shore
CBP did not reveal the child's age or whether he was traveling alone or with a group
Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents have rescued 650 migrants in distress since October 1, 2020

Published: 22:28 BST, 29 June 2021 | Updated: 22:29 BST, 29 June 2021

e-mail

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter surveillance camera captured the brave actions of a border agent who rescued a migrant boy from drowning.

Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector agents were doing an inspection of an area near Penitas, Texas, on Saturday after spotting footprints that led from the Rio Grande River into the United States.

They noticed a child attempting to swim across a pond that is connected to the river.

The Guatemalan child reached out for a branch as he struggled to stay afloat, prompting the agent, who is assigned to McAllen station, to tie a rope around his waist and go after the kid. It wasn't clear if he descended from the helicopter, or if he was already on the ground.

Footage shows the Border Patrol agent, who remains unnamed, guiding the boy toward the shallow part of the waterway and out of danger.

Scroll down for video

A Border Patrol agent used a rope to guide himself to a Guatemalan boy who was struggling to stay afloat in a pond near the United States-Mexico border outside Penitas, Texas, on Saturday. The child and the agents were taken to a local medical facility for additional treatment and were found to be in good health

A U.S. Border Patrol agent assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector tied himself to a rope and went into a pond in the United States-Mexico border region near Penitas, Texas, to save a Guatemalan boy from drowning Saturday

The agent and the migrant child were treated by the Penitas Fire Department and rushed to an area hospital after paramedics determined they required additional medical assistance.

Both were discharged after they were found to be in good health.

It’s unknown if the Central American boy, whose name was not revealed, was traveling with other migrants across the United States-Mexico border.

Border Patrol says the boy has been 'processed,' but it's unclear if he's in a shelter in the U.S.

DailyMail.com reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Rio Grande Valley Sector for comment.

According to the sector's Chief Border Patrol agent Brian Haskings, border officers have rescued more than 650 migrants during the current fiscal year, which spans from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.

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)

CBP's last monthly report showed that Rio Grande Valley border officers continue the most migrants for illegally crossing the United States-Mexico border out of the nine sectors that are responsible for the vigilance of the 1,954-mile long southwestern international line.

Of the 897,213 migrants who have been detained since October 1, 2020 - the start of the current fiscal year which runs until September 30 - Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol agents have stopped 271,927 migrants, including 50,793 in May.

The Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector, which consists of nine stations covering 320 river miles, 250 coastal miles and 19 counties in Texas, has stopped 106,675 Hondurans, 59,044 Guatemalans, and 54,761 Mexicans since October 1, 2020.

Sector officers have also encountered 35,077 natives of El Salvador who illegally crossed the border. An additional 16,370 borders crossers from other nationalities have also been arrested.

Truck driver smuggling migrants through Mexico pulls over after hearing the screams of his cargo: Police find more than 100 people who were trying to reach the US, including a man, 25, who suffocated to death and an abandoned two-year-old boy

A truck driver who was smuggling more than 100 people across Mexico pulled over when the banging and screams of his cargo became too much to ignore.

Police who came across the scene found a man, 25, who had suffocated to death and an abandoned two-year-old boy.

It's the latest horrific discovery as hundreds of thousands of migrants from Central America cross through Mexico to attempt to illegally enter the United States - with some falling ill or dying in the desert or becoming prey to human smugglers.

The scene unfolded Monday morning in the southern Mexico state of Veracruz after the driver stopped the truck on a two-lane road and allowed more than 100 migrants, most from Central America, to get out of the freight container.

The survivors told Mexican National Institute of Migration agents that they were banging on the doors and screaming to be let out after they could longer bear the lack of air and heat inside the locked trailer.

A two-year-old boy, pictured, who authorities said was from Guatemala was found abandoned by the side of the road in Mexico after a human-smuggling truck stopped and most of the more than 100 migrants aboard fled. One man was found suffocated to death

An abandoned two-year-boy was among eight migrants who were found next to a tractor-trailer that was left behind in Veracruz, Mexico, on Monday. Authorities discovered the dead body of a 25-year-old man inside the freight container where 100 migrants were crammed together in their failed journey to the U.S. border

Pictured are six of the seven adult males who were ill and were unable to flee after a tractor-trailer ferrying more than 100 migrant bound for the United States border was abandoned in Veracruz, Mexico, on Monday morning. A 25-year-old man died after suffocating due to the lack of air inside the locked freight container

The driver or his companion opened the door, and most of the migrants jumped out and ran off into heavy vegetation on the side of the highway that connects Ocozocoautla, Chiapas with Las Choapas, Veracruz.

Immigration police came across the scene after the driver and his passenger also had fled.

They found the 25-year-old man, whose identity and nationality they didn't disclose.

They also found the two-year-old boy who apparently had been abandoned.

It's not clear if the two-year-old was traveling by himself, or was left by his parents who fled the scene when the cargo doors were opened.

The National Institute of Migration agents said that the driver of the tractor-trailer finally stopped the truck after migrants banged on the doors to be released because they could no longer bear the lack of air and high temperature inside the locked cargo container

The Mexican Secretariat for Home Affairs said that the child, who wasn't identified, was placed in custody of the office of State Attorney for the Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents

Authorities have not been able to locate the driver of the tractor-trailer or the person who was accompanying him after the pair abandoned the vehicle on the shoulder lane of a highway in the southern Mexican state of Veracruz that connects Ocozocoautla, Chiapas with Las Choapas, Veracruz

The migrants told immigration agents that many of the people inside the trailer were feeling faint several hours before the truck came to a stop.

Eight migrants were found lying on the ground or standing near the truck. The majority escaped into the Mexican countryside.

None of the seven adults identified themselves as family members of the boy, who is apparently from Guatemala. It's not clear how authorities determined his age or nationality.

The Mexican Secretariat for Home Affairs said that the child was placed in custody of the office of State Attorney for the Protection of Girls, Boys and Adolescents.

The adult migrants were transported to a local National Institute of Migration center where they were provided additional treatment.

The incident comes less than a week after 240 migrants, including 61 children, bound for the United States border for found inside a warehouse in the central Mexico state of Puebla.

The United States-Mexico border region, which covers 1,954 miles, has become a pressing issue for the administration of President Joe Biden. The administration has struggled with a rise in unlawful border crossers.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who was chosen by Biden to lead the nation's efforts in finding a solution to the migrant crisis, inspected the border area in El Paso, Texas, last Friday.

Harris had been criticized by Republican politicians and some Democrats for not visiting the border sooner.

Immigration 'cannot be reduced to a political issue,' Harris told reporters. 'We're talking about children, we're talking about families, we're talking about suffering. And our approach has to be thoughtful and effective.'

A monthly report released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection earlier this month showed that Border Patrol agents stopped 180,034 migrants in May along the southwestern border, a slight increase from 178,854 the prior month, with the increase driven largely by single adults.

From March to May more than 530,000 people were apprehended and pushed back into Mexico after attempting to cross without legal immigration documents, the June 10 report also indicated.