Border Patrol agents assigned to the Laredo Sector found six illegal immigrants in various stages of distress after they illegally crossed the border from Mexico. Most of the migrants were abandoned by their cartel-connected human smugglers.

Agents assigned to the Laredo South Station received a call for help on Saturday from a pair of illegal immigrants who became lost on a ranch near Freer, Texas. The ranch is located about halfway between the border town of Laredo and Corpus Christi on U.S. Highway 59. Freer is about 60 miles from the Mexican border.

Agents responded to the call and located two illegal aliens who said they became lost in the brush. The two subjects were identified as Mexican nationals. Agents said the men were in good health at the time of their recovery, according to U.S. Border Patrol officials.

One day earlier, another illegal immigrant called 911 to request assistance on another ranch near Freer. The subject told dispatchers he became lost, likely after being abandoned by smugglers. The agents tracked down the subject and found him before his health declined from heat and lack of water. Agents learned the man came to the U.S. from Ecuador and entered illegally.

A third Freer Station rescue occurred after yet another migrant called 911 and told dispatchers he was lost on a ranch. Agents found this man on Wednesday in good health. They identified him as a Mexican national who had entered illegally.

Agents assigned to the Laredo Sector Marine Unit found two illegal immigrants having difficulty floating in the Rio Grande River that serves as a border between the U.S. and Mexico. The agents found the migrants in distress near Zacate Creek. They pulled the two migrants into their boat and provided emergency medical assistance, officials stated. They later learned the two migrants were from Mexico.

In total, Border Patrol agents in the Laredo Sector saved six illegal immigrants who had illegally crossed the border from possible death or serious illness. Five of the six were from Mexico and the sixth was from Ecuador.

“These events illustrate how the men and women of the United States Border Patrol not only serve to protect our borders, but are also committed to the preservation of life and assist anyone in need,” Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Gabriel H. Acosta said in a written statement.