Border Safety Initiative Unveiled By U.S. Customs and Border Protection

By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2017

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, unveiled a public demonstration of its annual “Border Safety Initiative” on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at Shelby Park on the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas to highlight an important safety program designed to prevent migrants from dying on their migration into the United States while making the U.S.-Mexico border safer for agents and residents, announced Cory Maddox, Acting Supervisor of CBP.

Maddox stated that “the Border Safety Initiative uses the deployment of life saving technology, emergency response personnel, coupled with binational information campaigns aimed at reducing the number of migrants’ deaths while making safer the border for agents and residents.”

Maddox added that “the Border Safety Initiative rescues migrants from the perils of unscrupulous smugglers who have no regard for their lives and safety.”

The Border Safety Initiative utilizes the services of the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Team (“BORSTAR”), who are specially trained in search and rescue missions, the CBP Office of Air and Marine, Border Patrol Mounted Patrol (Horseback), and field Border Patrol and CBP officers to search, rescue, assist, and provide surveillance of migrants, agents, and residents in distress due to nature’s elements and extraordinary situations on the U.S.-Mexico border.

CBP hosts an annual public demonstration to the press and public in March immediately before the start of the Spring and Summer seasons which generally causes the most search and rescue missions due to the warmer and hotter climate temperatures on the U.S.-Mexico border and Southwest United States.  For example, during October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016 (Fiscal Year 2016), there were a total of 3,964 rescues done and a total of 322 deaths of migrants reported by U.S. Border Patrol and CBP.  Locally, the Del Rio Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol did a total of 18 rescues and reported a total of 14 deaths among migrants during Fiscal year 2016.  On January 31, 2017, the U.S. Border Patrol Marine Unit rescued four undocumented immigrants from drowning in the Rio Grande River in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Over 25 CBP and Border Patrol officers participated in the March 21st public demonstration of the Border Safety Initiative held at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass.

CBP Office of Air and Marine helicopter pilots Keith Bradford and Yates Parsons, based in Del Rio, Texas, participated together with their aircraft (helicopter).  CBP Officer Keith Bradford stated the Air and Marine mission is to serve and protect the American people and migrants by providing search, surveillance, rescue, and support missions of field officers. Bradford added that CBP Air and Marine also support local and state agencies regarding search, rescue, and trauma situations in the area.  The CBP Air and Marine unit has aircrafts in Del Rio, Uvalde, and San Angelo.

U.S. Border Patrol/CBP Marine Officers Carl Nagy, Octavio Salazar, Daniel Barbery, and Adam Hamm of Eagle Pass also participated in the Border Safety Initiative demonstration.  CBP Marine Officer Carl Nagy stated that each of the two Eagle Pass Border Patrol stations (North and South) have two air boats and will soon get a new light rescue boat to patrol, search, and rescue people on the Rio Grande.  CBP Mairne Officers Carl Nagy and Daniel Barbery provided the Eagle Pass Business Journal a courtesy air boat demonstration ride on the Rio Grande along the Eagle Pass, Texas-Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico border.

U.S. Border Patrol Mounted Patrol (horseback) Officers Kevin Ward, Jake Gurley, and Ben Martinez also participated in the Border Safety Initiative demonstration with their horses.  Border Patrol Mounted Officer Kevin Ward stated that their horses allows them to reach hard to get to locations that normally vehicles can not reach due to heavy brush or forestation.  Ward added their mission is to provide search, surveillance, support, and rescue to field agents and migrants.

BORSTAR Team members Marcellus Smith, Jesse Esquivel, and Andrew Aviles also joined the Border Safety Initiative demonstration.  BORSTAR Team Officer Jesse Esquivel stated that the search, rescue, and trauma team is composed of U.S. Border Patrol agents who must apply for this team and undergo a five weeks intense selection training program.  Esquivel added that currently there are 10 members in the Del Rio Sector BORSTAR Team based in Del Rio, Texas.

BORSTAR was founded in 1998 in response to the growing number of injuries to Border Patrol Agents and migrants deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border.  The national headquarters of BORSTAR is located at the U.S. Border Patrol’s Special Operations Group (SOG) in El Paso, Texas.  BORSTAR is the only national law enforcement search and rescue entity with the capability to conduct tactical medical, search and rescue for federal, state, and local agencies and migrants.

BORSTAR agents receive advanced specialized training in emergency medical, tactical medicine, technical rope rescue, paramedic, austere medic, load planner, helicopter rope suspension, rescue watercraft/boat operator, cold-weather operations, personnel recovery, small unit tactics, tactical combat casualty care, operations management and planning, and advanced dive, swift-water,  and technical rope rescue operations.

Other CBP/Border Patrol Officers participated in the Border Safety Initiative public demonstration.

CBP’s mission is to safeguard the United States’ borders from dangerous people and materials while enhancing the Nation’s global economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate travel and trade, including the Border Safety Initiative.