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Border Patrol riverine agents show how they’re patrolling the Rio Grande

Border Patrol riverine agents show how they’re patrolling the Rio Grande
2 weeks 5 days 18 hours ago Wednesday, January 29 2025 Jan 29, 2025 January 29, 2025 8:07 PM January 29, 2025 in News - Local
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Agents with the U.S. Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector’s Riverine Operations team spent their Wednesday morning patrolling the Rio Grande, and navigating in the thick fog.

The agents said they’re used to unpredictable situations, and facing them in all kinds of elements. 

“It can be pretty dangerous if we're not prepared,” vessel commander Aubri Linda Martinez said.

Martinez has been with the riverine unit for four years, and said she knows the intricacies of the river like the back of her hand.

U.S. Border Patrol allowed Channel 5 News to ride along with Martinez’s crew as they patrolled the Rio Grande.

Martinez relies on that experience to get her crew up and down the river safely, even when she can't see it. 

She also knows the areas where she has to go slow and keep a close watch on, not just for migrants, she said.

Other than people enjoying the river, Martinez said the Rio Grande has been quiet for the last few months. No migrants were spotted crossing on Wednesday.

Agents did however see what they believed were Mexican immigration officials near the Anzalduas Dam.

“We have been seeing an uptick in their patrols in like the last couple of days,” Martinez said.

Though their mission is to deter migrants and smugglers from reaching the other side of that line, Martinez said she and her fellow agents work in one of the most dangerous parts of a migrant's journey to the U.S. 

When they come across someone struggling in the waters of the Rio Grande, Martinez said agents are not thinking about citizenship. 

“The empathy kicks in. A life is a life, and you do everything in your power to save that life,” Martinez said.

Watch the video above for the full story.

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