Illegals Crossing the Rio Grande Now Have to Contend with Massive Prehistoric Beast ... Not only do illegal immigrants have to deal with nature, they also have to make their way through unspeakably dangerous territory controlled by drug cartels where daily violence is the norm. Del Rio, Texas –The Del Rio U.S. Border Patrol Sector is issuing a warning to immigrants not to risk their lives and the lives of their children by attempting to cross the Rio Grande River. Agents warned the man of the dangerous currents and eventually persuaded him not to attempt the crossing, according to information provided by Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials. But the sheer number of incoming migrants – many of whom are seeking asylum and are travelling with children who, by US law, cannot be detained for more than 20 days – has created an overwhelming backlog in cases and crowding at the border processing facilities. U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. Migrants crossing the Rio Grande towards the United States are rescued by a U.S. border patrol boat, seen from Piedras Negras, Mexico, February 12. Rio Grande Regional Hospital admitted both subjects for evaluation/treatment. He says the river’s levels have risen about 3ft because of a water release from a nearby hydroelectric dam and excessive rainfall. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini. Beneath the apparent serenity of this snaking river that marks the border between the U.S. and Mexico, strong undercurrents and whirlpools conceal debris and branches that can snare you as you try to swim across. Earlier this month, a 40-year-old migrant woman collapsed at the Eagle Pass station about 30 minutes after crossing the river. DailyMailTV has exclusive access to the Rio Grande Valley, America's most dangerous border land It faces Tamaulipas, the area of Mexico so dangerous for … CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel. Trump’s immigration clampdown has pushed an increasing surge of Central Americans into the harsh river currents at the US border. Our journalists will try to respond by joining the threads when they can to create a true meeting of independent Premium. Pushing through the river’s current, and mindful of an alligator lingering upriver, she guides her friend’s crying 10-year-old boy towards a US border-patrol rescue boat. Much like in the U.S., many of the migrants died from dehydration or injuries in desert and mountain areas after being abandoned by human smugglers, the report continues. Attempting to cross the Rio Grande River especially with small children is not worth the risk. With Jimmy Wakely, Dub Taylor, Reno Browne, Riley Hill. Birth on a riverbank: Woman's ordeal shows risks at border A Honduran woman gave birth on the banks of the Rio Grande after being pushed across the river in a tire Start your Independent Premium subscription today. “So this is nothing compared to that.”. Debris ricochets along the riverbed, and the banks are littered with inflatable tubes and Styrofoam noodles that migrants use to stay afloat. From the scorching Sonoran Desert to the fast-moving Rio Grande, the 2,000-mile US-Mexico border has long been an at times deadly crossing between ports of entry. A few hours earlier, a pregnant Honduran woman took her first steps on US soil. January 27, 2017. Michael Nordine Barefoot and balancing his 8-year-old daughter on his shoulders, Angel Gabriel, 39, crosses the Rio Grande and into Eagle Pass on a hot afternoon. President Donald Trump’s repeated threats and attempts to limit immigration have not deterred migrants. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. It belonged to a baby. Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports from Texas, {{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}, The migrants risking it all on the deadly Rio Grande, The Trump admin’s latest move against immigrant kids is horribly cruel, Trump imposes tariffs on Mexican imports to crack down on immigration, Sixth migrant child dies in US immigration detention, Trump wants immigrants so learn English and pass ‘merit’ exam, You may not agree with our views, or other users’, but please respond to them respectfully, Swearing, personal abuse, racism, sexism, homophobia and other discriminatory or inciteful language is not acceptable, Do not impersonate other users or reveal private information about third parties, We reserve the right to delete inappropriate posts and ban offending users without notification. The day before, border-patrol agents at the Eagle Pass river crossing in South Texas had found the body of a man too decomposed to be easily identified. Migrants have for years traversed the Rio Grande on makeshift rafts to cross illegally into the United States. He also questions why migrants would knowingly put their children in that type of danger in attempting the perilous journey to the United States. Nine days later, he waits in a shelter in Del Rio, packed with scores of other migrants, for a bus to Dallas to stay with friends. Independent Premium Comments can be posted by members of our membership scheme, Independent Premium. I would suspect there are other individuals out there that were never reported missing that we will eventually recover at some point in the future.”. “The whole world crosses through the river,” says Yevy Leiva, 28, who steered a raft across the Rio Grande with his son and two other migrants. U nder a hot sun beating down on the US border, a family of five can be seen mid-river, struggling against a cruel current of greenish-grey water threatening to sweep them off their feet. When you see the small infant and you hear the infant dying, you think about your own children.”. Increased water volume strengthens the river current and puts anyone attempting to illegally cross in jeopardy. “The more troubling ones, the ones more recently, are the small infants. The Border Patrol has issued warnings in Mexico about the dangers of crossing the Rio Grande, and Mr. Kemmett said migrants were urged to at least wear life jackets before making the attempt. But turning her head, she revealed a bruised jaw – the evidence of what she said was an attack by her domestic partner in Honduras. On May 14, a woman lashed her 1-year-old child to her back and entered the river on an inner tube unaware that her child was submerged under water as she struggled with the current. Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. A 7-year-old girl is still missing. He steadies his 32-year-old wife as they walk into the river current; she tightly grips their barefoot 16-year-old son. Only five survived. Steve is investigating his father's sudden death after charges of theft from the Sloan/Carson mine. Rio Grande City – Camargo International Bridge Rio Grande City, Texas – Ciudad Camargo, Tamaulipas 26°21′56.84″N 98°48′8.96″W  /  26.3657889°N 98.8024889°W  / 26.3657889; … Please be respectful when making a comment and adhere to our Community Guidelines. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. “Truly thankful,” Gabriel says through tears as he sits in a border-patrol van with his family. Outlaws attempting to kidnap Steve Blaine from a stagecoach are ran off by the sharpshooting of his sister, Sally and rescuers Jimmy Wakely and Cannonball Taylor. “This trend is not without tragic consequences. “They’re navigating the currents, they’re navigating the river itself, and now you have alligators,” says Kemmett, a 24-year veteran of the border patrol. On Feb. 18, Border Patrol agents pulled an unconscious 12-year-old boy from the river. She was declared dead at a hospital, and the authorities were investigating the cause of her death. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Immigrants crossing the border through the river with the help of what they call "Los Polleros" when the government shut down. Mexican immigration officials said most of the deaths of the migrants were drownings as people attempted to illegally cross its northern border into the United States. Three people drowned including a 10-month-old boy, and a 7-year-old boy. Close. Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images A g e n c e F r a n c e - … Starting in the Rocky Mountains, it winds 1,900 miles south to the Gulf of Mexico, … “It’s disturbing what is taking place on our borders and witnessed by our Border Patrol agents every day,” says Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Randy Davis. But they also say they were convinced by human smugglers and by other migrants that crossing the Rio Grande, which can take about five to 10 minutes, was the fastest and least complicated way to start their requests for asylum, given the Trump administration’s clampdown at legal ports of entry. A woman crossing the Rio Bravo with a baby on the US-Mexico border in Ojinaga, in northern Mexico. By comparison, the border patrol recovered the remains of four people from the river from fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2017. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? After crossing successfully, some change into the dry clothes before they are taken to a border-patrol facility to be processed. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. Some of them were infants who had to be flown to a hospital in San Antonio after they nearly drowned, Kemmett says. At the time this photograph of women and child emigrants crossing the Rio Grande River was taken in 1983, both politicians and the public in the United States were becoming increasingly concerned about the rapidly increasing levels of undocumented migration from Mexico. On May 1, a raft … The Rio Grande forms the border between Texas and Mexico. Despite its name and status though, the once mighty Rio Grande is now a mere trickle – diminished by industrial damming. Do not risk your life and the lives of your children by attempting to cross the river. “An alligator is not going to know the difference between a child and a chicken, or any other small animal.” Migrants often head to the Rio Grande with one change of clothes as well as their identification and other documents in a plastic bag. “I feel thankful that my family is OK.”. Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports from Texas, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Over the past two fiscal years, at least 11 people have drowned in the Del Rio sector of the Rio Grande. Agents in Del Rio say there is no sign that the surge of migrant families will decline. Failed river crossing claims life of 10-month-old child; reaction from former New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez. The Rio Grande Valley Sector currently has multiple campaigns focused on rescues and danger awareness, such as “Operation Big Rig” and “No Se Arriesgue” to combat smuggling and ultimately save lives. “We’re seeing a lot of families,” he says. Agents in the sector have also rescued nearly three times as many migrants in the water than agents in other sectors along the border with Mexico, taken together. Last month, the Trump administration began flying migrants from overcrowded centres elsewhere in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to Del Rio to be processed. 7 / 29 / 14 12:23 PM. Claire Denis Once Swam Across the Rio Grande to Make a Point to Wim Wenders Shooting "Paris, Texas" was more dangerous than you might have known. As soon as agents finish patting down Gabriel to ensure he is not carrying weapons or drugs, he rushes to his family members and embraces them. Unfortunately, we’ve seen some of those,” says Bryan Kemmett, the border-patrol agent in charge of Eagle Pass, a town of 29,000 about an hour from the larger Del Rio. U.S. Border Patrol agents from Eagle Pass. The change isn’t just aesthetic – it … Randy Davis, the acting deputy chief patrol agent of the border patrol for the Del Rio sector, blames the deluge of migrants on the human smugglers who are increasingly exploiting this stretch of the Rio Grande as a comparatively untapped path into the United States. Close. But facing a surge of families from Central America, border-patrol agents are now pulling dozens of migrants, including young children, from the harsh current of the river almost every day. The US Customs and Border Protection agency took more than 144,200 into custody in May, the highest monthly total in 13 years. Trying to cross the river with a 2-month-old strapped to your chest or your back is not easy.”. And in early May, border-patrol agents at Eagle Pass pulled the body of a 10-month-old baby from the Rio Grande after a raft carrying nine migrants overturned. A dangerous crossing. There is an alarming trend taking place along the border in the Del Rio Sector of undocumented immigrants with small children crossing the Rio Grande River. EAGLE PASS, Texas – In recent weeks water levels of the Rio Grande River have risen to well above normal height. They’re navigating the currents, they’re navigating the river itself, and now you have alligators, Walking along the riverbank in Eagle Pass, Kemmett stops to examine a shirt left in the weeds near the water. As a result, the vast majority of migrants who illegally enter the United States are told to report to court at a later date and are released. Directed by Oliver Drake. “I’m trying to keep them all straight in my mind. As a result, the United States increased measures to secure the borders. This is a 57 percent increase compared to the same period last year. A couple of days earlier, a video of a man desperately trying to swim against the current before going limp and sinking circulated in Mexican news media. But agents in Del Rio say the processing facility there was also overcapacity; earlier this month, the authorities there built a tent city to house migrants. From there, the migrants search out relatives or other places to stay while their cases wind their way through immigration court. Read our full mailing list consent terms here. Children are drowning or are critically injured. Fusion. The Rio Grande Valley Sector currently has multiple campaigns focused on rescues and danger awareness, such as “Operation Big Rig” and “No Se Arriesgue” to combat smuggling and ultimately save lives. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. “It’s not easy to begin with,” Kemmett says, “but now you’re trying to hold on to your child. Policies that separated migrant children from their parents, forced asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their day in court and detained teenagers in camps likened to juvenile prisons have done little to stem the immigration flow. The bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his nearly 2-year-old daughter, Valeria, lie on the bank of the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico, on June 24, 2019. Underscoring the dangers to the migrants, an alligator hid among river weeds one afternoon last month, floating just high enough to show the spikes along its back. All four of them weep. Once the groups begin to cross, they quickly realize the danger and are now at the mercy of the unpredictable currents and deep waters of the river. The US border patrol has issued warnings in Mexico about the dangers of crossing the Rio Grande, and Kemmett says migrants have been urged to at least wear life jackets before making the attempt. EFE-EPA/ Abraham Pineda-Jacome The recent tragic drowning deaths of two migrants - a father and daughter - in the Rio Grande highlight the danger along the … Children are drowning or are critically injured. he 19-year-old pregnant migrant wades towards the US shore, deep enough in the Rio Grande for waves to splash against her waist. Storage areas that had been used for border-patrol equipment in Del Rio “are now storing baby formula, diapers, additional extra space for blankets, heat blankets they can wrap up in”, Davis says. In recent weeks, Border Patrol agents in Del Rio Sector have seen true tragedies and several near tragedies caused by immigrants who did not heed the warning. For some of the immigrants, it is the only way to protect their families. Their heads are wrapped in a black T-shirt, and her tiny right arm is draped over his shoulders. Border-patrol agents meet the family in the middle of the river and bring them to land. … Davis says he expects to find more bodies. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents observed a man with an infant strapped to his chest, preparing to cross the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. Central American immigrants cross the Rio Grande earlier this year, Children at a detention centre in Rio Grande City (Reuters), A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained at the border (Getty), Trump’s immigration clampdown has pushed an increasing surge of Central Americans into the harsh river currents at the US border. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini. Since Oct. 1, 2018 to date, there have been 10 water related deaths reported in the Del Rio Sector. The mother and child were rescued by Border Patrol agents and taken to a local hospital. Swimming and even walking in the Rio Grande is dangerous, according to emergency officials. Since 1 October, border-patrol agents in the Del Rio sector have arrested nearly 18,000 migrant family members – compared with 1,387 during the first eight months of fiscal 2018. the Rio Grande A rising number of families, often with young children, are crossing the Rio Grande to enter the U.S. Reporting from Matamoros, Mexico — Some migrant families this weekend contemplated crossing the swirling Rio Grande from Mexico to seek asylum in the U.S. despite several recent drowning … You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. As the boat carries them on the final leg of their journey to the United States from Honduras, the young woman waves back to a group on Mexico’s riverbank cheering her rescue. So far in the current federal fiscal year, which began on 1 October, border-patrol agents have rescued at least 315 migrants from a 209-mile stretch of the Rio Grande – up from 12 migrants the year before. As the man struggled to stay afloat, the child was under water, nearly drowned, and is now suffering from water in his lungs. Danger of border crossings in focus as raft carrying migrants overturns in Rio Grande. And the desperation and the panic gets in there, and then they start to struggle.” Once they cross the Rio Grande and touch US soil, the migrants are taken into custody by the border patrol. And while far more migrants trying to slip into the United States die on land – from dehydration or other dangers in the desert and brush – the number of deaths in the Rio Grande is rising at an alarming rate. It's heating up across New Mexico, but residents shouldn't jump into the Rio Grande to cool off. Official website of the Department of Homeland Security, Performance, Accountability and Financial Reports. Most of the migrants who are caught by the border patrol come to the United States to escape poverty in their home nations, Kemmett says, and do not appear to be the criminals that Trump has warned of in his campaign to limit immigration. “But within those families, we’re seeing more and more younger infants. Border Patrol agents are rescuing people, but have also had the grim task of recovering deceased bodies including children as young as 10-months-old from the Rio Grande River.”. The woman, who said she was to give birth in about a week, wanted to apply for asylum in the United States and hoped to create a good life for her soon-to-be-born son. The agents performed CPR on the boy and resuscitated him. For fiscal year 2019, which began Oct. 1, 2018, Border Patrol agents have rescued more than 380 undocumented immigrants, including small children. Only migrants who show visible distress or who are travelling with a child are rescued by border-patrol agents. The bodies were found after a search by Mexican police along the Rio Grande At least 283 migrants died on the US-Mexico border in 2018, according … The river levels are expected to rise again soon and the dam releases to irrigate crops in and around Eagle Pass and to provide electricity for the town. Create a commenting name to join the debate, There are no Independent Premium comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts, There are no comments yet - be the first to add your thoughts. “The sad moments are the deaths. Kemmett says the border-patrol agents he oversees are becoming “battle fatigued”. The shocking image captured Monday was a grim … Migrants who are interviewed for this article at Eagle Pass say they are well aware of the risks. Mexican border city Juárez issues a public service announcement to warn migrants about the dangers of crossing the Rio Grande River. Migrants crossing the Rio Grande towards the United States are rescued by a U.S. border patrol boat, seen from Piedras Negras, Mexico, February 12. Yesterday on May 16, Border Patrol agents rescued a man that was trying to cross the river with a 3-month-old boy strapped to his chest. It is imperative that immigrants wishing to enter the United States do so through a designated port of entry. “The life with my partner was a risk,” she said as she looked at the river. Rio Grande Regional Hospital admitted both subjects for evaluation/treatment. July 11, 2018: Border Patrol agents across the Rio Grande Valley arrested four gang members and two sex offenders including active members of MS-13 and the 18th Street gang. He says they left Honduras after being attacked. In recent weeks, Border Patrol agents in Del Rio Sector have seen true tragedies and several near tragedies caused by immigrants who did not heed the warning. They are processed in centres that were built to detain migrants before they were deported. The bodies of migrant Oscar Martinez Ramirez and his daughter, who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande on their way to the U.S. in Matamoros, Mexico, are … She had briefly reconsidered crossing the Rio Grande after seeing pictures on Facebook a day earlier of an alligator in the river. LAREDO, Texas – The Rio Grande is known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico; “bravo” is Spanish for fierce, treacherous, unpredictable. While the Rio Grande is shallow in some areas, other parts dip without warning to a depth of 8ft. Triple-digit heat, unwanted vermin and prolonged immigration court closures and Southwest border restrictions are driving some asylum-seekers to attempt to cross the Rio Grande and are being blamed on at least four recent drowning deaths, according to a Catholic nun who helps oversee volunteer services for the migrants at a tent encampment in Matamoros, Mexico. “There have been hundreds and hundreds of rescues,” Davis says. Please continue to respect all commenters and create constructive debates. Attempting to cross the Rio Grande River especially with small children is not worth the risk. Do not risk your life and the lives of your children by attempting to cross the river. The US border patrol has issued warnings in Mexico about the dangers of crossing the Rio Grande, and Kemmett says migrants have been urged to at least wear life jackets before making the … On May 1, a raft carrying nine people capsized sending everyone on board into the water. “Thankful to the power of the United States that they helped us get out,” Gabriel says.