U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that more Border Patrol agents are in the field with emergency medical training. The announcement comes after an 11-year-old migrant child died of heatstroke after illegally entering the U.S. from Mexico. The announcement pertains to the Rio Grand Valley Sector (RGV) of Texas. The sector contains several remote counties where illegal immigrants are frequently found dead from heat and exposure.
The CBP released a public statement on the matter:
“By increasing the number of agents who are trained as emergency medical technicians, we increase our ability to save lives in remote and inhospitable environments,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent Raul L. Ortiz. “Additionally, Border Patrol agents are often the first to arrive at the scene of vehicle accidents in rural areas, the addition of these highly trained agents increases our ability to provide assistance in a variety of emergency situations.”
Breitbart Texas spoke with Border Patrol Agent Chris Cabrera on the issue of the increased training. Agent Cabrera is Vice President of Local 3307, a chapter of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC). “This is going to help agents save the lives of women and children in remote areas. The recent death of an 11-year-old who dies from heatstroke showed us that agents need to have the ability to render care,” said Agent Cabrera. “It’s not just illegal aliens who need care. Even other agents can find themselves in trouble, as we often have to work in remote areas where emergency services have difficulty reaching.”
He added, “This is a great step forward. We have had agent-EMTs for some time, but as the number of people crossing increases there is a need for more agents to be certified.”
As Breitbart Texas Associate Editor Bob Price has extensively covered the remote areas of the RGV Sector and helped to bring attention to the horrors that Border Patrol agents are trying to address with more medical training. Pregnant women who were near death before being found, women who have been left to die by smugglers, and the partially-eaten remains of migrants who have died in the region are among the realities of the remote regions.
Follow Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby on Twitter: @BrandonDarby
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