Customs and Border Patrol, January 7, 2020

Due to the vigilance of several Border Patrol agents, three people were rescued after trying to scale the new border wall in San Diego on Sunday evening.

The event began at approximately midnight on January 5, when agents on patrol near Otay Mesa saw three people in a precarious situation. A man and two women, under the cover of dense fog, tried to enter the U.S. illegally by climbing San Diego Sector’s new 30-foot, steel bollard wall. The trio became stuck at the top of the wet, slippery wall after smugglers abandoned them.

Due to the danger of the situation, agents requested the assistance of the San Diego Fire Department (SDFD) in order to get them down safely. SDFD used their ladder truck to remove the three people from the wall without injury. Once on the ground, agents questioned the group about their nationality and all three were Mexican nationals illegally present in the U.S.

The individuals, a 36-year-old male, a 20-year-old female, and an 18-year-old female were transported to a nearby Border Patrol station for processing.

“These three were very fortunate to not have fallen from the top of the wall which could have resulted in serious injury or death,” said San Diego Sector’s Acting Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke. “These dangers are not important considerations to smugglers, who place an emphasis on profits over safety.”