Tucson Standard

Five migrants suffering from heat exhaustion were rescued from the rugged terrain of the Peloncillo Mountain range after the Tucson Air Branch responded to an air support request on June 14, according to a June 18 news release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

According to the CBP, the first incident involved an air support request from the Douglas Station Horse Patrol Agents to assist three migrants experiencing heat exhaustion. Three members of the sector’s Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) unit, including a paramedic, joined the air crew. One of those patients was unresponsive and having seizures. They were flown to a waiting ambulance. A second migrant, delirious from the heat, was transported to a Douglas Fire crew; a third was hoisted with an Air Marine Operation (AMO) Rescue Specialist and flown to a waiting crew from Douglas Fire Department.

The second incident occurred on June 16 when a Tucson Air Branch crew responded to the Peloncillo Mountain Range near the Arizona border with New Mexico. Two migrants were airlifted to waiting ambulances; seven migrants in the group walked to transportation for processing.

"Our aircrews are trained and capable of rapidly shifting from operational missions to humanitarian roles," said Jessie Scruggs, Director of Air and Marine Operations, Tucson Air Branch in the June 18 news release. "These two incidents represent what our aircrews are called to assist agents on the ground who encounter the growing number of migrants who become distressed by the unrelenting conditions they are placed in by callous smugglers."

The Tucson Sector of CBP covers more than 250 miles of the U.S. border, from New Mexico to Yuma County. There are an estimated 3,700 agents working across nine stations in this sector. The Tucson sector dates back to July 1, 1926, when its headquarters moved from Nogales to Tucson. Currently, there are nine stations within three corridors: Why, Three Points, Casa Grande, Tucson, Nogales, Wilcox, Bisbee, Douglas, and Sonoita.

U.S. Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security responsible for safeguarding national borders and preventing illegal entry of people and contraband. Established in 1924, it operates at 328 ports of entry and protects 7,000 miles of land borders and 95,000 miles of maritime borders.