Border Patrol agents in central Texas have had to rescue 63 children and parents who attempted to illegally cross the Rio Grande River from Mexico into Texas at one specific location in the span of one week, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Federal law enforcement agents from the Del Rio, Texas, sector pulled more than five dozen people — all children who were traveling without a parent or family — to safety in three incidents between April 12-18.
Raul L. Ortiz, the top agency official in the region, said the river has become increasingly dangerous in recent days because more water is being released from the Amistad Dam upstream.
“With the increased water levels, the river is running faster and higher than normal making any attempt to cross the river even more treacherous. Thanks to our agents’ vigilance, these attempted crossings did not result in the loss of life,” Ortiz said in a statement.
The river — referred to in Spanish as the Río Bravo for its “furious” current — is expected to remain in flood stage for the next 25 days.
The first rescue took place Friday, April 12, and involved 14 people who were found stranded on an island in the middle of the river. Agents from the Del Rio Sector’s Brackettville Station and Border Patrol’s elite Search, Trauma, and Rescue team, or BORSTAR, took a boat with special swift-water equipment out to the island and brought everyone to the U.S. shore.
Two days later, a CBP officer flying a helicopter above the region observed 21 people stranded on the same island. He saw them try to cross the remainder of the river and nearly get swept away, according to a news release. Agents from the same station rescued the entire group.
On Thursday, April 18, agents from Brackettville found 28 people stuck on the island and brought them to shore.
The groups were likely led to this specific crossing point by Mexican smugglers who control that side of the 2,000-mile border.
