Border Patrol agents in Hidalgo, Texas, discovered a pregnant migrant woman in labor. With no time to spare, the agents, trained as emergency medical technicians, delivered a healthy baby boy on Wednesday. Agents wrapped the mother in an emergency blanket and prepared the two for transport.
The woman was found on a dirt road near the Rio Grande in an area where hundreds of migrants cross daily, hoping to surrender to Border Patrol.
More than half a million apprehensions have been made by agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Fiscal Year 2021 and leads the nation in apprehensions for all nine southwest border sectors. The Border Patrol specifically trains select agents as EMTs to provide care and treatment to those experiencing emergencies.
In addition to a experiencing a record-breaking year for migrant apprehensions, the Border Patrol is also seeing a significant increase in migrant rescues along the southwest border. In Fiscal Year 2021, the Border Patrol rescued nearly 11,000 migrants providing emergency medical care for a variety of medical emergencies. The total is twice that of Fiscal Year 2020. Rescues usually involve migrants suffering from heat exhaustion, injuries sustained in accidents, hypothermia, drowning emergencies, and in some cases, births.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.
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