May 27, 2020 447 PM
FAR WEST TEXAS – “For a fit individual, it’s a 10-day hike through the desert, and that’s with supplies,” said Public Affairs Officer for Big Bend Sector Greg Davis, speaking about the journey undocumented immigrants attempt when trying to enter the United States without detection.
Along with the rough terrain, temperatures near the border routinely surpass 100 degrees, supplies and water are scarce, and those hoping to avoid Border Patrol are up against a complex, well-funded surveillance apparatus.
Immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border often hire “coyotes,” individuals who promise to secure immigrants’ safe passage into the United States – for a price. “Those coyotes tell them it’s a short walk, that, ‘Once you cross the border, you’re in dreamland,’” Davis said. In reality, the final leg of the journey has cost many undocumented immigrants their lives.
Especially in the summer months, there is a tipping point where the goal to obfuscate capture is turned on its head. On three consecutive days last week, Border Patrol was dispatched to rescue immigrants who were turning themselves in. Surrendering their goal of entering the U.S. undetected, the immigrants had climbed high peaks to get cell service, then dialed 9-1-1.
“They might get a cell signal, they might connect, they’re only speaking Spanish and they get a 9-1-1 operator that patches it through to Border Patrol,” Davis said. “It becomes a real task to find out where they are.”
The Big Bend Border Patrol sector dispatched helicopters and agents on horseback to traverse the hazardous terrain last week, searching for undocumented individuals based on the provided vague descriptions of their locations.
The agency said agents in Alpine, Presidio and Sierra Blanca were dispatched last week, responding and rendering aid “to multiple individuals with life-threatening heat-related illnesses.” The agency also retrieved the body of a deceased individual who had succumbed to the extreme weather during travel.
The self-surrender itself indicates dire circumstances. Davis said he even had three individuals turn themselves over to him after they spotted his vehicle. He remarked, “I’m a public affairs officer, not a Border Patrol agent but they turned themselves in to me.”
“In these situations, we have a law enforcement role, but for these situations our first priority and only priority at that point is life-saving medical attention. We’ll deal with the other stuff later,” said Davis.
The “other stuff” is of course enforcement of immigration law. “After rescue and treatment by medical personnel, the individuals were processed according to applicable immigration laws,” a Border Patrol press release stated.
Davis said that after being treated for any health issues, almost all apprehended immigrants are now “deported right across the border” within a period of hours, due to new procedures under coronavirus.
Those who are put into detention in the U.S. are mostly individuals with active warrants, Davis said. Recently the government in Mexico has begun accepting flights into Mexico City, where Customs and Border Protection will deport “repeat offenders” who have repeatedly attempted entry into the United States.
“I think the intent is, a lot of people from third countries will realize they’ve given it a try and now it might be better to go back to Honduras or Guatemala, especially with the temperatures and COVID-19 stuff,” Davis said of the new flights that move immigrants away from the border.
Peter Schey, a Los Angeles-based lawyer and a founder of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law said, “The removal of adults to countries where they may face persecution appears to violate both federal law granting all immigrants the right to seek asylum and the United Nations’ protocol relating to the status of refugees, to which the United States is a party.”
Summary and mass deportations without assessing the health of the migrants, if they are infected with COVID-19, “unquestionably increases the danger of the spread of COVID-19 throughout Mexico, Central and South America,” Schey added. “Both from a legal and health perspective, the current mass deportation policy is cruel and irrational.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order on May 20 that indefinitely allows immigration authorities to rapidly deport asylum seekers to Mexico or their home countries. CBP has also extended its closure of the Trusted Traveler Program until at least July 6, citing fears of exposure to coronavirus. Additionally, the U.S. has extended the border’s closure to all nonessential travel until June 22.
Schey concluded, “It wouldn’t surprise us in the least if the administration attempts to keep these border policies in place long after the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control.”
In the meantime, while crossings have declined in the Big Bend when compared to last year, many are still risking their lives in hopes of remaining in the United States. Asked why he thought undocumented individuals continued to come to the Big Bend, Davis said, “Desperate people will do desperate things, and oftentimes that puts their lives in jeopardy.”
