SAN DIEGO: In recent months, Border Patrol agents in San Diego Sector discovered large breaches in an aging border wall. The shoddy barrier, built using Vietnam-era metal landing mats, is the only physical defense in some areas of the 60 mile San Diego Sector. Along the U.S./Mexico border, multiple vehicles drive-through the dilapidated fence. Illegals, once confronted, flee at high-speed, making get-away roads and freeways dangerous.
The aging wall: an invitation to break the law.
Border Patrol on incidences involving vehicle drive-throughs,
February 2, agents in the east county found a portion of the landing mat wall/barrier that was cut, pushed down, run over. From there, tracks led into the United States. A search ensued from visible tire tracks. Border Patrol saying they could not locate any vehicles. Investigation is still pending.
A border wall incursion discovered on Feb. 2, 2019, with no vehicle found. Photo U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector
Similarly, on February 14, agents discovered another large breach in the aging wall/barrier in a remote area near Campo, Calif.
Illegals cut the wall, pushing it back in place to conceal their secret entry point. Tracks lead into the U.S.
A pick-up was used in Thursday night’s incursion. Photo U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego Sector
Subsequently, a Border Patrol K-9 team followed tire tracks that led to an abandoned 1995 Ford truck, just north of the border. Agents found twenty-four illegals hiding in nearby brush.
They arrested and took them to the Campo station for initial immigration processing and FBI check, before turning over to ICE. The truck was seized per San Diego Sector guidelines.
Transnational criminal organizations often put those they smuggle in peril.
February 19, 2019, Border Patrol agents operating in Boulevard, Calif. saw four individuals emerge from the brush and load into a minivan. When agents tried to stop them, the operator of the van drove at a high rate of speed towards Campo, Calif. Shortly after, Border Patrol deactivated their sirens and discontinued pursuit.
The van operator proceeded and drove through a washout, losing control and came to a stop. Five illegals attempting to flee were taken into custody. Emergency medical services addressing any mild to moderate injuries.
Also on the 19th, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Chula Vista Station saw two people enter the United States east of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. Agents tracked the illegals to the Otay Mesa Detention Center where a white sedan picked them up.
Read Also: The Wall, a CDN Exclusive: A visit to U.S. Border Patrol, San Diego (photos-video)
A marked Border Patrol vehicle initiated a stop using emergency lights and a siren. The sedan fled away at more than 100mph. A quarter mile from the initial stop attempt, the sedan collided with a semi tractor-trailer making a left turn, forcing the car beneath the semi truck and into a ditch. Agents found the male driver and front passenger dead. A female in the back had multiple injuries.
Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) rendered aid to the female airlifting her to a local hospital.
“This is a tragic scene and is just another example of the dangers smuggling organizations put people through,” says Border Patrol.
Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) team render first aid to an injured migrant. Photo U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Ineffective walls create an emergency response, task emergency services, end in death.
Local San Diego hospitals are not strangers to illegals brought in for medical care. Who pays for that, and care flights? What about follow-up care for the injured? What about proper burials?
San Diego Sector battles the same problems other U.S. Border Patrol Sectors do. The following U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) releasing the following information:
In Calexico Calif, a distressed illegal in a canal was pulled to safety by Border Patrol. She was in shock with signs of hypothermia. She told agents of another who was struggling with her in the canal. BORSTAR responded and found a deceased individual below the surface of the water.
In Eagle Pass, Texas, a Border Patrol Marine unit plucked out a 12-year-old Honduran boy from the Rio Grande River and resuscitated him. The boy would have lost his life without the training and quick response of Border agents.
In Falfurrias, Texas, Border agents continue to encounter human remains on local ranches. According to CBP, “The Rio Grande Valley Sector currently has multiple rescue and danger awareness campaigns. With names like “Operation Big Rig” and “No Se Arriesgue,” they are to combat smuggling and ultimately save lives.”
Border Patrol agents assert that effective walls work. A newer, more impenetrable barrier can reduce reckless, illegal incursions and high-speed pursuits. What is the human cost to delay wall construction?
CBP has a complex mission
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has a complex mission at ports of entry. Broad law enforcement authority allows agents to screen all foreign visitors, returning American citizens and imported cargo. CBP provides security and facilitation operations at 328 ports of entry throughout the country.
The San Ysidro Port of Entry is one of three ports of entry in the San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan region. It is one of the busiest land border crossings in the world. Each day, 70,000 northbound vehicles and 20,000 northbound pedestrians cross, in addition to southbound traffic.
Border Patrol must stop and detain anyone crossing the border between ports of entry. Aging, ineffective walls provide a false sense of security.
No one thinks twice about the value of an effective digital wall to protect and secure personal/business information on computers. One hack, one computer virus and it can be an irreversible catastrophe. Vehicle drive-throughs and crashes, criminal smugglers/traffickers, lethal drugs, and terror plots – capitalizing on open or ineffective border wall areas – result in catastrophes, too.
Border Patrol can’t be in all places at all times.
CBP states, “To prevent the illicit smuggling of humans, drugs, and other contraband, the U.S. Border Patrol maintains a high level of vigilance on corridors of egress away from our Nation’s borders. To report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, contact San Diego Sector at (619) 498-9900.”
Direct from the Whitehouse:
“January saw a surprising surge of 22,000 more apprehensions of illegal immigrants at southwest border crossings over January 2018, prompting a key predictor to suggest that border officers will make over 600,000 apprehensions this year,” Paul Bedard tells the Washington Examiner.
“The year-over-year increase was 84 percent, from 25,975 in January 2018 to 47,893 last January, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”
Princeton Policy Advisors’ Steven Kopits believes the surge suggests that more illegal immigrants could be heading to the border than expected.
“Buckle your seat belts: 2019 could be a wild ride at the southwest border,” he says.
The border crisis is real.
Democrat lawmakers want open borders. Republicans drag their feet on securing them. However, the American people want safety, economic relief, and secure futures. Will Congress do the job they are elected to do? America is watching intently – with human lives on the line.
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