The U.S. Border Patrol recently erected more desert rescue beacons near Tucson, beacons aimed at saving the lives of illegal aliens in distress.
Reports revealed on Friday that the new beacons are part of an effort dubbed the Blue Light of Life campaign. The effort is designed to alert illegal immigrants to the dangers of crossing the desert-like stretches of our southern border and to give them aid if they face life threatening situations while doing so.
“With assistance from the Arizona National Guard’s 2220th Transportation Company, 10 additional rescue beacons were strategically placed to save the lives of migrants in distress,” a government statement said.
Also as part of the campaign, the older beacons in the area were re-fitted with new signage, sun-reflecting mirrors, and high intensity blue lights that can be seen at night for up to ten miles. The ten new 30-feet-tall beacons bring the number of rescue stations to 32 in the Tucson sector.
As reported in the Arizona Daily Independent, “The Tucson Sector has had 83 rescue beacon activations resulting in the rescue of 142 persons. Agents have discovered 95 deceased individuals during the same time frame, a 44% decrease from Fiscal Year 2013.”
According to the human rights group Border Action Network, since October of 1999, there have been 2,602 illegal immigrants found dead in the Tucson sector. The group also claimed that even as apprehensions have decreased in the Tucson sector, the number of illegal immigrant deaths has “remained constant.”
The deaths have remained constant, the group asserted, because the U.S. Border Patrol changed its strategy to one making use of geography as a deterrent and concentrating on the easiest areas for illegals to get into the country. This has caused some immigrants to make their incursions using the more dangerous routes, which has caused the death count to remain constant.
The new solar-powered “desert beacons” join dozens of other beacons in such places as Yuma, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley. The U.S. Border Patrol has spent millions on these rescue stations. At one time, it was reported that each pole cost $3,000 to produce, but that does not include installation or maintenance.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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