This week marks American Heroes Week, and we at DHS are taking time to thank the brave service members and veterans, law enforcement officers, and first responders who keep Americans safe every day.
This includes the brave men and women of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) who go above and beyond to protect Americans and the homeland. Here are some of their stories:
This June, U.S. Border Patrol agents with the Laredo South Station, Laredo Sector, were tracking a group of suspected illegal aliens near a ranch in El Cenizo, Texas when they encountered an unresponsive female showing signs of having suffered a heat stroke. The agents called dispatch to summon emergency medical services and transport to a hospital. Because the subject was in an area not accessible by ambulance, the agents carried her several hundred yards. A Border Patrol emergency medical technician, along with other Border Patrol agents, arrived and began administering medical assistance to stabilize the subject and lower her core body temperature until the ambulance arrived.
Two Willcox Station Border Patrol agents were among several awardees honored recently during Congresswoman Martha McSally’s second annual Congressional First Responder of Distinction award ceremony. Tucson Sector Agents Adam Alessi and Joseph Tukovits each received a “Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition” for their actions following an accident on Interstate 10. When the agents arrived at the accident scene, they discovered a man whose right arm was nearly severed. The agents quickly applied a tourniquet to prevent the man from bleeding out and ultimately saved his life and his arm.
This month, Brian A. Terry Station U.S. Border Patrol agents in Tucson Sector encountered an illegal alien with a fractured leg. An Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter arrived with a Border Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit agent from U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector. The subject was airlifted to a waiting Life-Net Air ambulance and transported to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents assigned to the Erie Marine unit along with U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Detroit Border Patrol Station recently rescued five individuals from the water in two separate incidents.
The first incident began when AMO Marine Interdiction agents from the Erie Marine Unit were conducting a marine patrol inside Presque Isle Bay in Erie, PA. While on patrol, the Agents observed a vessel underway that appeared to be trying to retrieve a person in the water. As the agents approached the distressed swimmer, another passenger from the vessel jumped into the water to try assist. Upon witnessing the two individuals struggling to stay afloat, the AMO vessel crew pulled alongside for a direct pickup of the two individuals in the water. The vessel and passengers were escorted back to the dock with no injuries.
The second incident began when U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the Detroit Station Marine Unit were conducting a marine patrol on Lake St. Clair. While patrolling near St. Clair Shores, the crew observed three people in the water drifting away from their vessel frantically waiving their hands. The agents quickly maneuvered their Border Patrol vessel towards the group of people and deployed both a rescue-line bag and life-ring successfully pulling the individuals out of the water. All three individuals were offered medical attention and were subsequently transported back to their vessel.
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