Border Patrol union addresses concerns as apprehensions rise

Yuma Sector Border Patrol has reached an apprehension record number as there have been 50,000 illegal entries since October.

The to-date number surpasses the total number of apprehensions for fiscal years 2017 through 2018.

In April 2018, Border Patrol agents apprehended 2,877 and this year at the same time, there were 4,613 apprehensions, according to Customs and Border Protection statistics.

“Our agents, our resources, they’re being strained. They’re being pulled in so many directions that we just don’t have the resources and the manpower that this huge load of over 50,000 for the year so far, said Mario Campos, president of the local Border Patrol union.

The trend is leading the local Border Patrol union to have concerns for those agents serving in the Yuma Sector.

“When detainees are being held in our facility, they’re usually inside cells where we have a negative air pressure system, which means that there’s one portion of the system that sucks out the air and there’s another portion of it that blows in clean air cells so that they’re breathing clean air. So, that air that is possibly contaminated isn’t blown out to where the agents are at. Right now, since we have an overflow and a lot of people aren’t even inside the cells, we don’t know what our agents are being exposed to,” said Campos.

The Border Patrol union explained the medical checks that those apprehended go through.

“They check their vitals and look for any outward injuries or rashes that they may have or any other symptoms that are visible, and we address those,” said Campos. “Truthfully, there’s a lot of airborne and other types of diseases that have no symptoms at least that are visible.”

Campos explained that due to the overflow of border crossers, the Yuma Sector has expanded its processing facility.

“It’s a fenced-in area that’s attached to our processing center, but it is outside,” said Campos.