DEL RIO, Texas –Border Patrol agents on Monday rescued two undocumented immigrants after they attempted to illegally cross the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass.
At approximately 3 a.m., Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass Border Patrol Station observed a large group of individuals in the middle of the Rio Grande River attempting to illegally enter the United States near the Camino Real International Bridge. Due to the high water level and swift current the group struggled to stay afloat. Agents deployed rescue ropes and pulled them to safety. One individual – later identified as a 15-year-old Honduran girl – was stranded on a bridge pillar and struggling to stay afloat by holding on to a strand of wire lodged around the pillar. Border Patrol agents entered the Rio Grande and pulled her safely to the U.S. riverbank.
Later that day at approximately 1 p.m., Eagle Pass South Station marine agents responded to possible smuggling activity three miles south of the Camino Real International Bridge. When agents arrived, they observed a man – later identified as a 24-year-old, Mexican national – struggling in the water to stay afloat. The agents responded quickly and deployed a flotation device then safely pulled him from the river and onto their patrol boat.
Both individuals declined medical attention and were transported to the Eagle Pass Processing Center and processed according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy.
United States Border Patrol agents successfully rescue numerous illegal immigrants attempting to enter the United States by traversing the waters of the Rio Grande, every year. This is the ninth water-rescue in Del Rio Sector for Fiscal Year 2014. During FY13, Del Rio Sector agents performed seven successful water-related rescues.
Del Rio Border Patrol Sector is an integral part of the South Texas Safety Initiative and the South Texas Campaign, which leverages federal, state and local resources to combat transnational criminal organizations.