Texas Border Business
MISSION, Texas – Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector Border Patrol Agents and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers rescued 18 subjects from the Rio Grande.
Early this morning, RGV Sector agents along with CBP officers encountered 18 subjects struggling to exit the Rio Grande by the Anzalduas Port of Entry in Mission, Texas. As the temperature dipped into the lower 40s this morning, the subjects quickly found themselves in distress and unable to get out of the river. Agents and officers guided the subjects to a dock where they were brought up to safety.
After being in the water for several minutes, many subjects were susceptible to hypothermia. Border Patrol Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) on scene medically evaluated the 18 subjects and determined only one subject needed further medical treatment. The subject was transported to a local hospital. The group, including one unaccompanied juvenile, are from Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala.
The subjects were transported to the McAllen Border Patrol Station and processed accordingly. Agents found an additional 11 subjects that that were with the group but not exposed to the frigid waters.
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. Call 911 to report suspicious activity; “They’re humans, not cargo!”
Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.
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 the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.
 Sector Border Patrol Agents and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers rescued 18 subjects from the Rio Grande.){kind=link}