The U.S. Border Patrol has deployed two new rescue beacons that agents said will allow immigrants in distress to call for help.
The sites are set for the placement of two rescue beacons in the Kingsville Border Patrol station’s area of responsibility.
“We put them in areas where there is a high concentration of people either needing help or not making it to the road or to help,” Isaac David a BORSTAR Agent. “We put them in places where someone would benefit from it could!”
Many illegal immigrants smuggled into the United States are unaware of the extreme elements in regard to harsh terrain that they will face.
"Imagine yourself walking through sand dunes at the beach where loose sand would be and fully clothed,” said David.
He went on to state that most people get very exhausted just walking from the pavement to the water.
It’s technology that the rescue beacons provide and the specialized training agents receive is vital to saving lives. In order to increase the likelihood of survival, the two new rescue beacons have been placed on Kingsville area ranchland.
Once activated the beacons send out a distress signal.
Currently, there are six rescue beacons deployed on ranches throughout the area.
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, Border Patrol agents have rescued close to 50 undocumented immigrants, several of them due to the use of rescue beacons.
RGV-Sector Border Patrol has also placed placards on windmills throughout surrounding ranches which contain information immigrants can provide 911 dispatchers, so can they can be swiftly located.
As always, the Border Patrol welcomes assistance from the community. To report suspicious activity, contact the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector’s toll-free telephone number at 800-863-9382.
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