An illegal immigrant from El Salvador used WhatsApp to help Border Patrol agents find him when he became lost in south Texas.
Agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) received a phone call on Saturday that an illegal immigrant from El Salvador had become lost and was dehydrated and in danger, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.
The immigrant had contacted his sister via WhatsApp. She then made contact with a Human Rights Coalition representative. That representative contacted the South Texas Human Rights Center (STHRC). The STHRC then contacted the Rio Grande Valley Sector Missing Migrant Initiative Office.
Using WhatsApp, the sister was able to determine his location. He had become lost in the “killing fields of Brooks County” near the town of Falfurrias. Hundreds of illegal immigrants have died in these arid ranchlands from dehydration and heat exhaustion. He was also able to send her photographs to help agents figure out landmarks in the area.
WhatsApp, an encrypted communications platform, works similar to other smartphone applications such as text and multimedia messaging.
Agents assigned to the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station, about 80 miles north of the Texas/Mexico border, were deployed to help find and rescue the man before he succumbed to the hostile elements. Breitbart Texas has reported extensively about the loss of life of illegal immigrants and the abuses they face in this county from their cartel-connected human smugglers.
Agents were able to find the lost man and rescue him. He declined medical attention and was taken into custody by the agents.
Border Patrol officials said they have seen an 88 percent increase this year in the number of rescues in the RGV Sector. Over the same period as in 2015, agents have rescued nearly 1,300 endangered illegal immigrants.
Agents in the RGV Sector have developed the Missing Migrant Initiative as a proactive program to help find and rescue these people. The program is being developed throughout the entire South Texas Corridor, officials stated. “The main goal of this initiative is to adopt and establish preventative procedures in order to preserve human life,” Border Patrol officials wrote in the statement obtained by Breitbart Texas.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
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