Border Patrol reports migrant's death in fall from border barrier

Chris Benson
·2 min read
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Members of the Operation Lone Star Task Force West and Texas Tactical Border Force block migrants from illegally entering Texas in May near El Paso on the Rio Grande River. File Photo by Mark Otte/UPI
Members of the Operation Lone Star Task Force West and Texas Tactical Border Force block migrants from illegally entering Texas in May near El Paso on the Rio Grande River. File Photo by Mark Otte/UPI

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported Tuesday that a Mexican woman died after falling from a barrier along the border near Clint, Texas in November.

A Border Patrol agent saw the woman atop the barrier nearly 7 miles southwest of the Ysleta Port of Entry on Nov. 18. Two other women were seen north of the barrier exiting a drainage canal.

The agent requested emergency medical services after he saw the three women fall from the barrier.

The El Paso, Texas Fire Department arrived and took two of the women to hospitals for treatment. The third -- identified later as a Mexican citizen -- had suffered "significant head injuries and was unresponsive with no pulse." A medical examiner declared her dead, but the Nov. 20 autopsy details from El Paso County's medical examiner were still pending Tuesday.

Special agents in the Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility interviewed the two survivors, who said their group guide had warned them the Border Patrol was approaching.

The border between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, is separated by the Rio Grande River and a chain link fence on the U.S. side as seen from the Paso Del Norte bridge in 2019. File Photo by Natalie Krebs/UPI
The border between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, is separated by the Rio Grande River and a chain link fence on the U.S. side as seen from the Paso Del Norte bridge in 2019. File Photo by Natalie Krebs/UPI

"The women stated panic ensued, which caused one woman to attempt to climb back down the barrier with the other two women below her. The women were tied together about one foot apart as they climbed the barrier. When one woman panicked, all three of them fell from the barrier," CBP said in a statement.

Tuesday's report comes as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott feuds with the federal government over migration at the border. The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with the Biden administration, allowing the removal of razor wire erected by Abbot along the border to prevent migrants from entering the state.