EAGLE PASS, Texas — Despite the treacherous journey to enter the U.S., Border Patrol officials said hundreds of migrants are still coming every day.
On Tuesday, KENS 5 cameras caught the moment Border Patrol agents rescued two migrants from the swift currents and fast-moving water of the Rio Grande.
Once on dry land, one of the migrants suddenly started to shake, his body overcome by an epileptic seizure. Agents jumped in and provided medical care until EMS arrived.
For the second time in just minutes, agents saved this young man’s life.
The two men are siblings, they told us, saying it took them nearly two months to travel to Eagle Pass from Ecuador.
Like these two siblings, most migrants encounter tremendous dangers along the way.
“They’re walking for days, and if they can’t keep up with the smugglers, they’re simply abandoned to die,” said Del Rio Sector Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens.
Owens said the only ones standing between migrants and the dangers they face are Border Patrol agents, who do what they can to provide help. Often, the assists are lifesaving.
On Tuesday, Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents hosted a Border Safety Event, allowing the KENS 5 team to experience some of those dangers and the practices agents deploy to rescue migrants.
“Every year we have people drown trying to cross this river,” said Owens.
From last October to March, authorities say, 46 migrants have died in the Del Rio Sector spanning Texas land from Eagle Pass to Del Rio.
From October of 2021 to September of 2022, 256 migrants died along the border, an increase of nearly 100 from the year before.
Owens said the dangers don’t stop when migrants finally cross the border.
“When they transfer from the stash house, they may be stuffed in the back of a tractor trailer with no air conditioner, locked inside for days," Owens said. "We’ve seen the results of that on two separate occasions in the last five years."
“Imagine the desperation you’d feel, especially if you’re standing beside your loved ones in a situation like that,” he added.
The tragedy of this reality isn't lost on agents who risk their lives to save others.
“When we deal with minors, children and infants, they’re drowning or emergency calls for dehydration,” said Harold Ortega, deputy patrol agent in charge of special operations. “A lot of agents like myself are parents. When we see children, we can’t stop thinking about our own children.”