Officials with the San Diego Sector Border Patrol are issuing a cold weather warning to illegal immigrants stating the dangers of traveling to San Diego County during inclement weather.
Heavy rains and cold fronts expected to descend on the area greatly increase the likeliness of sickness, injuries, and deaths for those trying to enter the United States illegally, according to a release citing the San Diego Sector Border Patrol.
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“Our message to migrants who are thinking of illegally crossing the border is this: Do not put your lives at risk,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel said. “The smugglers do not care about you. They have abandoned others in the past and left numerous migrants to fend for themselves.”
She added, “Human smugglers only see you as a commodity they can profit from, not a human being.”
McGurk-Daniel’s warning comes just ahead of San Diego County’s coldest days of the year and human smugglers’ intentions to guide migrants across the border despite the conditions.
The drastic drops in temperature that occur at night have proved especially dangerous to those making the journey into the country, the release said.
“Migrants will not be warned by smugglers of the effect cold weather will have on their physical and mental health, and the very real risks of hypothermia, frost bite, or death,” according to the release. “Previously abandoned migrants have been severely injured and have even succumbed to their injuries and the elements.”
A prime example of the deadly consequences that come from abandonment is the tragic 2020 story of three sisters who died after a smuggler left them behind.
“Despite an extensive CBP rescue effort, the three women ultimately died from cold weather exposure,” the release noted. “The resulting tragedy and the smuggler’s blatant disregard for safety in this case is a stark reminder to migrants not to place their lives in the hands of criminal organizations whose priority is profit.”
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To mitigate the dangers of inclement weather, Border Patrol has put in place numerous safety measures, including public service announcements, cold weather kits, rescue beacons, and active patrols by the Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue team.
“These assets and tools are aimed at helping reduce cold-weather related injury or death along our borders,” the release said.
