Two small children were among those plucked from the water of the river that separates the US and Mexico, after their family unsuccessfully tried to sneak into the US illegally near Eagle Pass, Texas.
The rescue was caught in a heart-pounding video from the body-worn camera of a US Border Patrol agent.
Footage from this month shows several migrants struggling to stay afloat in the raging waters of the Rio Grande after the raft they were trying to use failed them.
A young boy and girl can be seen being pulled out of the water.
Other migrants were also saved, according to the agency that shared the video on social media Thursday.
A toddler dripping in water and appearing to be wearing a diaper was among those rescued from the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas
A specially trained water rescue team from the Border Patrol pulled several illegal immigrants, according to footage share by the agency
Two young children, a boy and a girl, could be seen sitting in the Border Patrol air boat after being plucked from the dangerous river
‘Crossing the border illegally is not worth the risk,’ the Border Patrol warned the post.
‘Eagle Pass agents were on patrol when a group of undocumented migrants attempted to float across the Rio Grande river on a raft.’
In this case, everyone was saved, but that is often not the outcome in the Rio Grande- the American name for the river.
In Mexico, the same waterway is known as the ‘Rio Bravo’ or fierce river.
Last weeks alone, three migrants died crossing into the Del Rio Sector, which Eagle Pass is part of.
Agents conducted four other rescues last week, the feds said.
The Del Rio sector continues to see large numbers of migrants illegally crossing, with 3,204 flooding over in the first week of March alone.
Elected officials in El Paso, Texas have repeatedly stated that their priority is to keep migrants from sleeping on city streets, such as what was seen at the height of the migrant crisis in that city in May 2023
Migrants arrive at a gate in the border fence after crossing from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico into El Paso, Texas, in the early hours of May 11
That makes the Del Rio sector the third busiest crossing point along the southern border, behind the Tucson and San Diego sectors.
Even in less busier parts of the border, the migrant crisis continues to take a toll on communities.
El Paso’s mayor issued a disaster declaration Thursday in order to allow local tax dollars to be used to fund non-profits that aid migrants.
While the Border Patrol in West Texas is only seeing about 1,400 migrants a day, the city has made it a priority to keep migrants who don’t have the funds to leave the border town from sleeping on the streets.
Texas’ sixth largest city was the epicenter of the border crisis from October 2022 until summer 2023, with the most border crossings anywhere in the nation.
During that time, the city declared a disaster to request resources from the state and federal government to handle the waves of migrants arriving there.
Since then, the local government had been funding migrant charities with a local ordinance.
However, the mandate failed to gather the unanimous votes needed from all members of El Paso’s city council last week.
In order to keep funding the migrant shelters, the mayor re-issued a disaster declaration.