EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — Border Patrol agents stopped a human-smuggling attempt in progress on Saturday near El Paso.
To get across, a Guatemalan family traveling with a 4-week-old infant had to perilously wade across the Rio Grande river before scaling the 18-foot-tall border wall about 6 miles east of the Ysleta Port of Entry in El Paso’s Lower Valley.
Border Report: Live border cameras
According to a news release, border agents observed human smugglers guiding the family across the river and using an unstable ladder to get over the border wall.
Agents said one of the two smugglers — identified only as Mexican men — was able to carry the small child over the fence on his back. But before the child’s mother and her daughter could get across, border agents arrived on both sides of the barrier. Agents said the woman found herself stuck atop the wall and needed assistance getting down.
Agents on one side of the barrier were able to reach the two male suspects carrying the child while agents took custody of the mother and her daughter on the other side of the barrier. Surveillance video shows agents tossing a floating device to help the man get across the canal that runs along the border wall.
Pregnant Guatemalan teen, unborn child die after fall from border wall
All of the subjects were safely taken into custody without any further incident with no additional medical care requires and were processed accordingly.
“U.S. Border Patrol agents are often the first to respond to these types of dangerous situations and make quick decisions when rescuing individuals left recklessly in harm’s way by criminal organizations,” Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said in a statement. “I’m extremely proud of the actions taken by our highly skilled agents bringing everyone in the group to safety without further injury.”
