2 Illegal Aliens Drown While Fleeing from Border Patrol

EAGLE PASS, TX — On June 22 at 8:30 p.m., U.S. Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Eagle Pass Border Patrol Station responded to a report of a group of suspected illegal migrants were seen in a rural area northeast of Eagle Pass.

Upon arriving in the area, the agents discovered footprints and other evidence of people having passed through the area and spent several hours attempting to locate them. Agents eventually located the group approximately 20 miles northeast of Eagle Pass, during the early morning hours of June 23, 2021.

The agents approached the migrants while they were resting, but the group awoke and began to flee. The agents followed the group for several minutes until the agents heard yelling in the distance. Shortly thereafter, the agents discovered several migrants in a large man-made lake; they were panicking and in need of assistance.

Agents began helping several migrants get out of the lake, while two agents removed their duty belts and swam into deeper water to rescue other migrants who were struggling to stay afloat. In the darkness, the agents located and rescued one man who was drowning, and they pulled him from the lake to safety. The agents returned and checked an area of the lake where backpacks were floating. Agents subsequently discovered a male Guatemalan citizen who was unresponsive. The agents pulled him out of the lake, began CPR, and called EMS.

Several agents performed CPR for approximately 32 minutes but despite their efforts, the man could not be resuscitated and was ultimately declared dead by the Maverick County Justice of the Peace.

The group of migrants reported an additional member of the group was missing. Agents from the Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue Team (BORSTAR) conducted a recovery operation utilizing divers and located a second male Guatemalan citizen also deceased in the lake.

The Maverick County Sheriff’s Department and the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility are reviewing the incident. The DHS Office of Inspector General was also notified of the incident.