Border Agents, Migrants Encounter Rattlesnake near Border in Texas

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents encountered an angry rattlesnake while escorting a group of migrants near the Texas border with Mexico. The snake and the migrant group eventually went their separate ways without further incident.

Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens tweeted a photo of a rattlesnake poised to strike as a group of agents and migrants make their way through the brush. The photo illustrates just one of the dangers faced by agents, their K-9 partners, and the migrants as they move through this region of the border.

Our Border Patrol agents and the migrants in our custody were all a bit “rattled” with this encounter. We are happy to report that everyone, including our little friend the snake, all went safely on about their business. Thank you, agents and stay safe out there! pic.twitter.com/EQvhMcRk0k

— Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens (@USBPChiefDRT) May 23, 2023

Chief Owens said the agents and the migrants were “a bit ‘ratted'” by the encounter with the poisonous snake. “We are happy to report that everyone, including our little friend the snake, all went safely on about their business,” Owens wrote.

A migrant attempting to reach the Mexico/Texas border, not far from where this incident took place, had to be rescued by Mexican authorities after being bitten by a rattlesnake near the Rio Grande, Breitbart Texas reported in 2021.

The Del Rio Sector is quickly becoming the busiest sector along the U.S.-Mexico border after falling off in recent months. Despite efforts by Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, migrants continue to cross the border to seek asylum, Breitbart Texas reported.

In three hours, more than one hundred migrants in groups consisting of single adults and family units with small children managed to cross the Rio Grande, breach the barriers, and ultimately surrender to Border Patrol agents who transported the migrants to a processing facility nearby. The steady flow of migrants seemed unimpeded by the recent warning by DHS regarding the application of penalties under United States Code: Title 8 after the expiration of the Title 42 CDC immediate expulsion order.

The Del Rio sector is averaging more than 1,000 migrant apprehensions per day, according to a law enforcement source. The numbers increased each day during the past week to more than 1,400 on Tuesday, May 23.