Border Patrol Wrap-Up (Tucson Sentinel)

Border Patrol Wrap-Up
Posted Jun 23, 2011, 12:38 pm

Janet Rose Jackman
TucsonSentinel.com

A summary of Border Patrol activities in the Tucson Sector over the past 48 hours, provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

Seizures
On Wednesday, agents from the Ajo Station apprehended an illegal immigrant from Mexico near the Papago Forward Operating Base. The suspect, who was carrying a backpack containing 69 rounds of ammunition, was transported to the Ajo Station for processing.

Rescues and recoveries
On Wednesday, the Ajo Border Patrol Station received a transferred emergency call from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department about four people in distress west of S.R. 85. The caller said one of the individuals was dead. A Border Patrol agent found a 37-year-old Mexican woman deceased. The three survivors were taken to Emergency Medical Services for treatment, one of whom was treated for dehydration. The smuggler of the group was identified during interviewing and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations on federal smuggling charges.

Also on Wednesday, Ajo Station agents rescued two illegal immigrants from Mexico who were lost near Pisimo. Agents treated the pair for dehydration then took them to the Ajo Station for processing.

Illegal immigrants are often abandoned by smugglers in the desert and left to fend for themselves in the scorching heat without adequate water and food, according to the agency, whose agents are often the first to respond to such emergencies.

The Tucson Sector has 200 agents trained as emergency medical technicians and more than 3,700 agents who are able to offer first aid.