In crushing heat wave, Border Patrol ready to rescue migrants
Daniel Gonzalez
AJO — The Border Patrol is shifting agents with medical and rescue training to southern Arizona’s west desert in response to a record-breaking heat wave.
The daytime temperatures, which have soared above 115 degrees, have already triggered a spike in rescues and might have claimed the life of at least one migrant this week, according to the Border Patrol and humanitarian groups.
The heat wave is forecast to continue for several more days.
Volunteers from the group No More Deaths planned to search near Organ Pipe National Monument this weekend for at least one dead migrant who was reportedly seen in the area earlier this week, said Scott Warren, a member of the non-profit.
Two migrant groups passing through the area each reported seeing a dead body, but it was not clear if it was the same body or two bodies, he said.
“We’ve been getting a lot of calls,” said Warren, an Arizona State University geography professor who also volunteers with No More Deaths. This is the time of year when migrant rescues spike and “with the heat wave coming on, it’s been pretty rough.”
The humanitarian group places water jugs in the desert to help prevent migrant deaths.
A dangerous time to cross
Some migrants hike for a week to 10 days in the desert as they attempt to enter the U.S. illegally and evade the Border Patrol, Warren said.
Those rescued this week may have started their journey when temperatures were cooler and been caught off guard by the heat wave, he said.
The Border Patrol typically sees an increase in migrant apprehensions at the start of the summer, even though rising temperatures make it the most dangerous time to cross. That’s because many migrants are seeking seasonal jobs in construction and agriculture, experts say.
But crossing when temperatures surpass 100 degrees also underscores migrants' desperation, Warren said.
“What level of desperation or fear or desire to reconnect with family” does it take for someone to cross when it is so hot? Warren said. “A lot of people don’t have a choice.”
In May, migrant apprehensions jumped 27 percent compared to April, according to Border Patrol statistics.
However, migrant apprehensions in May of this year are down 64 percent compared to May 2016, the Border Patrol said.
The Border Patrol’s Tucson sector has begun shifting resources from the higher, more-mountainous eastern part of the state — where daytime temperatures are typically 10 to 15 degrees cooler — to the lower desert areas in western Arizona because of the heat wave, spokesman Agent Chris Sullivan said.
“Out there, if people need help, they need help quick,” Sullivan said. “That part of the area is where it gets really hot, it’s desolate, and there is a lack of resources” such as water.
The Tucson sector stretches from the Arizona-New Mexico border west to Yuma County.
'We don't want anyone to die'
Among the agents redeployed to the west desert are those with the agency’s Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue unit, known as BORSTAR. The agents have emergency medical technician training or more advanced paramedic training. They also are trained to do complex search-and-rescue operations, he said.
“We don’t want anyone to die from crossing the desert,” Sullivan said.
The National Weather Service has extended an excessive heat warning for southern Arizona through Sunday. High temperatures will range from 106 to 118 degrees, and overnight lows will not provide much relief, the service said.
BORSTAR agents conducted several rescue operations this week due to the heat wave, though Sullivan could not say how many.
As of June 17, BORSTAR agents had rescued more than 20 people this month and provided medical treatment to 23 people, he said.
Earlier this week, Border Patrol agents encountered two migrants suffering from dehydration in the Tubac area near Interstate 19, between Tucson and Nogales, after one of them called 911, Sullivan said. One of the migrants was severely dehydrated and was taken to a hospital.
In Nogales, dispatchers from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about 5 p.m. Wednesday from a migrant traveling with three others, Sheriff Tony Estrada said.
A deputy found the four about an hour and a half later in an inhabited area northeast of the city near Kino Springs Drive and Duquesne Road, Estrada said.
The four were from the Mexican states of Puebla and Michoacan and ranged in age from 22 to 39, he said. One of them was suffering from severe heat exhaustion and dehydration and was taken to Carondelet Holy Cross Hospital in Nogales, he said.
He said most migrants trying to enter the U.S. illegally through the desert now carry cellphones. When they call 911, it’s because they are “really, really distressed” Estrada said.
“These are desperate people who feel like they have nothing to lose.”
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