Yuma Sector Border Patrol Glance
New drowning hazard signs posted along Salinity Canal
Hoping to prevent tragedies before they happen, the Yuma Sector Border Patrol recently installed new signs along the banks of the Salinity Canal warning migrants about the dangers of attempting to swim across it.
The signs, which are placed half a mile apart, are intended to help reduce drownings and each include an identification number, as well as instructions to call 911 in cases of emergency.
A solar powered lamp makes the signs readable at night.
Migrants often try to swim across the canal thinking it is a faster alternative to walking to a bridge.
However, once in the canal migrants quickly find themselves in life-threatening situations due to the cold water, surprisingly swift speed.
Slippery and steep banks also often make it difficult to climb out of the canal.
The signs are also part of the Yuma Sector’s Missing Migrant Program, which is a binational humanitarian effort with the government of Mexico to reduce the number of water rescues.
Water rescues, which tripled in 2021, not only threaten the lives of migrants, but also puts Border Patrol agents at risk as well.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents recognized
On Tuesday, U.S. Border Patrol Deputy Chief Matthew Hudak recognized the Yuma Sector’s Border, Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) and riverine teams for their recent rescue of a female migrant in the Colorado River.
The rescue happened on April 14, when agents Raul Mortera, Richard Long, John Moreno, Gary Wegener, Josh Priest and Guadalupe Garcia freed a woman who was entangled in the middle of some reeds in neck-deep water.
During a teleconference, Hudak praised the team for their selfless efforts saying, “Saving a life…there is nothing more important we do in this organization.”
The female migrant was attempting to enter the country illegally from Mexico by crossing the Colorado River on the west side of Yuma when she stepped across the reeds and unexpectedly fell through them into deep water.
Agents assigned to the boat patrol initially responded to aid the migrant but later requested assistance from BORSTAR agents, who helped safely rescue her.
The migrant woman, a Guatemalan national, was treated at the scene for minor scrapes.
She was subsequently transported to Yuma Sector for processing.