EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Beneath the beauty of the Sun City, lies a terrible truth.
El Paso’s extensive storm drain system, spanning over 300 miles, has become a conduit for human smuggling, presenting significant challenges for both migrants and Border Patrol’s Confined Space Entry Team ( CSET ).
Efrain Mercado, a border patrol agent, has 11 years of experience with CSET. He claims to KTSM that traffickers have been using the storm drains for years, but recent entries have increased.
To obtain first knowledge of the wind drain system, KTSM joined CSET.
Mercado said they usually conduct” blasts” where they check for symptoms of foundation.
” Often when we go in it, they’ve been using it for a couple of weeks, sometimes a few days”, said Mercado.
Workers, including children as young as five, are frequently forced into the wind drainage by pirates.
These pirates, which are part of international legal organizations, cost migrants thousands of dollars with the assurance of entrance into the United States. However, the reality is usually considerably grimmer.
” A lot of these workers are scared. They do n’t know where they are going. They only push them in, provide them their gift often, and they are on their own. But, sometimes they are also glad to see us”, Mercado explained.
CSET faces several difficulties, including flash flooding, poisonous animals, and exposure to toxic gases.
” They simply throw them in there and direct them to where they should proceed. Sometimes they have a guideline. Sometimes they do n’t. There must be at least two exits when we enter a hole to be safe. We encounter teams of up to 20- 40 workers, and it’s just two of us down there. Our contacts are poor down it, Mercado added, which is another issue.
The CSET frequently has to be one step ahead of pirates who attempt to break cement by cutting through new entry points with tools like electronic cutters and gas-powered saws to travel through different tunnels.
They reportedly tapped into a cyclone discharge from the north side of the Rio Grande, according to Mercado.
Equipped with hats, shoulder waders, boots, and air quality screen systems, the CSET must manage unsafe conditions. The air quality monitoring systems enable them to identify dangerous chemicals that are still present in the area.
” It picks up materials, any oil in the ocean or anything that we stir up. It’ll pick it up, and as soon as that goes out, we’re out of there”, Mercado said.
For some workers, the wind drains are a determined path to salvation.
” I’ve seen them come into 18- foot storm drains out of despair, and therefore we have to get in there and back them out, calm them down”, Mercado said.
Despite the dangers, Mercado and his team remain committed to their goal.
” We do this because we see these workers come into these caverns, we see negative results, and we try to accomplish our best to help these people”, Mercado said.
Agent Jeremiah Blount responded when asked if he ever felt afraid for his own protection.
” No, our coaching is leading- notch. We have great gear. There have been situations where we get tired and exhausted, but nothing we ca n’t handle. We’ve received the best training.
