An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  • Archived Content
    In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated.
  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. Local Media Release
  4. Rescue Beacons Help Border Patrol Find Lost Migrants

Rescue Beacons Help Border Patrol Find Lost Migrants

Release Date
Thu, 11/02/2017

TUCSON, Ariz. – Border Patrol agents rescued five undocumented aliens in distress this week thanks to the activation of three rescue beacons in the desert outside of Ajo, Arizona.

Agents rescued illegal aliens in distress after they activated a rescue beacon near Ajo, Ariz.
Agents rescued five illegal aliens
in distress after they activated a
rescue beacon in the desert near
Ajo, Ariz.

Ajo Station agents first responded to a beacon activation in a remote mountain pass approximately 10 miles west of Ajo just before midnight on Oct. 25. When agents arrived, they discovered three Mexican nationals - two men and a woman.

On Oct. 31, Ajo agents responded to separate beacon activations west of Ajo involving one male Mexican national at each location who had been abandoned by smugglers.

None of the five migrants requested medical attention and were subsequently taken to the Ajo Station to be processed for immigration violations in accordance with Tucson Sector Guidelines.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021