EL PASO, TX – The U.S. Border Patrol, El Paso Sector, CBP Air and Marine Operations, the Consulate General of Mexico in El Paso, GoM’s Instituto Nacional de Migración (INAMI), Policía Federal de Mexico, Policía Estatal (Chihuahua), Centro de Inteligencia Nacional (CISEN) and other non-governmental organizations are among the participants working together today with an ultimate goal of protecting human life.
Representatives from the various agencies met in the desert area in Sunland Park, N.M. today to join in the 21st Annual Border Safety Initiative (BSI) awareness campaign. The campaign is designed to warn border residents on both sides of the international boundary about the dangers that may be encountered when attempting to illegally enter the United States.
Working in cooperation with the Government of Mexico, El Paso Sector Border Patrol’s Foreign Operations Branch and other local law enforcement agencies, the annual campaign is aimed at reducing deaths and injuries of illegal immigrants or other border residents who enter or traverse through desert areas or swift moving canals. The bi-national effort focuses on reducing deaths and injuries of people who enter the country illegally. After introductory remarks, the event included a simulated live rescue demonstration by Border Patrol Agents certified as Emergency Medical Technicians, U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) team members, along with personnel from CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO).
The BSI first launched in 1998 as a proactive bi-national strategy to reduce injuries, prevent fatalities and ultimately make the border region safer. Under BSI, the U.S. Border Patrol has taken several steps to warn individuals about the dangers they may encounter when crossing the international border illegally. These include producing an annual public service announcement (PSA) that is distributed to media and non-governmental organizations for the purpose of educating the public about these dangers.