WATCH: Drowning Migrant Rescued from Texas Border Canal Current
El Paso Sector Border Patrol agents rescued a drowning migrant from the swiftly moving waters in the American Canal along the Texas-Mexico border. Agents found the man clinging to a ladder as the current attempted to sweep him away.
Ysleta Station Border Patrol agents patrolling the border along the American Canal on the night of July 26 heard a cry for help coming from the water. The agents rushed to the edge of the canal and found a man clinging to a steel ladder. Determining the man was in danger of being swept downstream and drowning, the agents moved quickly to extract the man from the chilly waters, according to information obtained from El Paso Sector Border Patrol officials.
The agents summoned a Border Patrol EMT to evaluate the 26-year-old Honduran man. An ambulance transported the rescued migrant to a local hospital for evaluation. Doctors released the man a few hours later to Border Patrol agents.
Under Title 42 Coronavirus protection protocols put in place by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the agents conducted a criminal background check and, once cleared, expelled him to Mexico.
Summer months are a particularly dangerous time for water crossings in the El Paso Sector due to the release of water from upstream dams to provide irrigation. In years’ past, multiple migrants were found dead after attempting to cross the American Canal.
American Canal in El Paso
“The coordination and quick response times of our agents and camera operators helped save this individual’s life,” stated El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez. “The video clearly shows the limited visibility under which the night-time rescue was conducted, along with the danger posed by the force of the currents.”
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.