El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents found a group of 40 unaccompanied migrant children along the rushing waters that separate Texas and Mexico. Despite warnings, five jumped into the river and had to be rescued.
El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez tweeted a video showing a group of unaccompanied alien children along one of the border-area waterways. Despite warnings about the dangerous currents, five of the 40 children jumped into the waters and had to be pulled to safety by Border Patrol agents.
MIGRANTS RESCUED! #BP #Agents from #Ysleta station discovered over 40 noncitizen unaccompanied children along the river attempting to enter illegally. Despite warnings, 5 of them jumped in the rising waters & were pulled to safety by agents. Outstanding job Ysleta! @cbp #Heroes pic.twitter.com/FBn0KFtuhy
— Gloria I. Chavez (@USBPChiefEPT) July 2, 2021
The irrigation canals along the Texas border with Mexico pose severe threats during the summer when officials release water to meet contractual obligations. These currents previously claimed the lives of multiple migrants attempting to illegally enter the United States, Breitbart Texas reported.
In June 2019, Breitbart reported on waters being released from the Elephant Butte Lake dam. The releases cause extremely dangerous conditions migrants must deal with if they attempt to cross the canals.
U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector spokesman Fidel Baca explained the danger. “There are actually three levels of currents, and they’re moving at a really high rate of speed,” Baca explained at the time. “The reason being, because it’s meant to be self-cleaning.”
Fire department officials warned that the currents pull people to the center of the river where the fastest currents are located. They said the current will pull you under. The faster the current, the more difficult it becomes for water rescue teams and Border Patrol agents to conduct successful rescue operations, the local ABC affiliate reported.
Less than two weeks later, officials recovered seven bodies during a four-day stretch from the canals.
El Paso Police Department Sergeant Enrique Carrillo told Breitbart News in a phone interview at that time that his department was investigating the deaths of six people who died in the canals during the past week. KVIA reports a seventh occurred on Saturday when a woman’s body was found floating in Socorro, New Mexico.
“While tragic, these types of deaths are not uncommon for this time of year,” Sgt. Carrillo told Breitbart News. “With the high levels of border crossings and the swiftly moving currents, we anticipate more drownings will occur.”
During the summer of 2018, several migrants, including two teenage girls, drowned in July, Breitbart News reported. Border Patrol spokesman Joe Ramero spoke to the El Paso Times about the callous nature of the cartel-connected human smugglers. “With the smugglers being ruthless, they don’t care about the loss of life,” Ramero explained at that time.
“They’re going to try and exploit whatever they can to cross the border into the United States illegally,” he said. “Most people aren’t aware of the dangers in the canal, especially during irrigation season. Those canals can be 15 and 18 feet high and the currents run 25 miles per hour. Even a good swimmer can’t survive that.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
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