The U.S. military announced Tuesday that two soldiers who are part of the deployment to the U.S.-Mexico border rescued a migrant woman and her child from drowning as they attempted to cross the border.
1st Lt. Samuel Mueller and Staff Sgt. Michael Mathews are part of a Mobile Surveillance Team assisting Customs and Border Protection, according to U.S. Northern Command.
Mathews jumped into the water after he saw the woman and her child struggling in a canal near El Paso, Texas. Mueller used his shirt as a makeshift lifeline until CBP agents arrived and threw them a rescue line. No one was injured in the incident.
“My Team Leader reacted decisively and without hesitation,” said Mueller. “He jumped into the canal in full uniform and boots to help a woman and her child in need.”
“I’m glad the woman and her child are okay. I think it was a great victory for the joint U.S. Army-CBP team,” Mathews said.
“Though we have very specific instructions to ensure CBP forces are in the lead to interact with immigrants crossing the border, I made it clear to my soldiers that they are authorized in every case to help when they feel human life is at stake,” said Lt. Col. Will Canda, commander 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment.
The U.S. has deployed both active duty and National Guard troops to the southern border in response to the increased number of migrants attempting to cross.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week he was sending 1,000 more National Guardsmen to the border.
“This is necessary because more than 45,000 people have been apprehended crossing our border in just the last three weeks and they’ve come from across the entire globe — coming from 52 different countries,” he said.
