On the morning of September 3, 2021, at approximately 6:00 AM, a Border Patrol Agent (BPA) assigned to the Laredo South U.S. Border Patrol Station (USBP) in Laredo, TX, apprehended four undocumented migrants (UDMs) near the Rio Grande River approximately one and a half miles southeast of the Laredo Juarez-Lincoln Port of Entry. The BPA, working alone, handcuffed all four migrants to each other using three pairs of handcuffs. As the BPA assisted the migrants through a barbed wire fence en route to a Border Patrol vehicle, a female migrant slipped her hand from the handcuff and ran towards the Rio Grande River. The woman ran approximately 50 feet and subsequently fell from a 20-foot cliff in the darkness. Upon landing, the woman’s head struck a log near the river’s edge. The BPA requested emergency medical services (EMS) and secured the other three migrants in his vehicle.
Medical personnel from the Laredo Fire Department arrived at the scene. A short time later, medical personnel declared the woman deceased and USBP identified her as a citizen of Mexico.
The Laredo Police Department, the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility are reviewing the incident. The DHS Office of Inspector General was also notified of the incident.