A migrant died and others have been injured after being abandoned in a storm drain this week, El Paso Sector Interim Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar confirmed.
Eight others were injured, the official added. They were left there for six hours and began having trouble breathing, with four migrants taken to a hospital to receive treatment. Fire officials called the episode a "mass casualty incident."
"This cruel and dangerous trend of using storm sewers has been employed by criminal groups for many years, leading to injuries and death," Slosar said.
"Human smugglers don't care about you. They will take your money, abandon you, and leave you to die in a storm sewer. The only safe way to enter the U.S. is legally," he added.
Slosar routinely reports incidents of the kind at the border. Last week he noted that border agents rescued a migrant stuck at the top of the border wall after being abandoned there by smugglers. "Smugglers don't care if you make it. They only care if you pay," Slosar said.
The incident took place near Fabens, Texas, after agents spotted the man and called the San Elizario Fire Department and medics. The man, a Mexican national, was unharmed. He and others in the group will be charged and processed for removal.
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