{"id":478202,"date":"2021-11-30T18:07:08","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T02:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=478202"},"modified":"2024-04-02T17:30:53","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T00:30:53","slug":"us-border-patrol-uses-arcgis-to-rescue-migrants","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/us-border-patrol-uses-arcgis-to-rescue-migrants","title":{"rendered":"US Border Patrol Uses ArcGIS to Rescue Migrants"},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[407892,24962,211],"tags":[472461,324382,476852],"arcuser_issues":[476532],"class_list":["post-478202","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-field-operations","category-focus","category-public-safety","tag-arcuser","tag-immigration","tag-sar","arcuser_issues-fall-2021"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United States Border Patrol is using GIS to improve its search and rescue (SAR) operations for migrants in distress.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":478222,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"blockquote","content":"As the end of the fiscal year (FY) for 2021 approached, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was on track to have more than 1.1 million encounters with migrants along the US-Mexico border. The last time migrant encounters occurred at this rate was in 2006."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Although increasing numbers of people have been crossing at multiple locations along the US border with Mexico, the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas sees some of the highest crossing rates in the country. Once in the US, migrants pass through urban areas such as McAllen, Harlingen, and Brownsville along the border. As they travel north, smuggling organizations provide groups of migrants with foot guides who lead them through rugged terrain to rendezvous points where drivers pick them up and transport them to the interior of the United States.\r\n\r\nThis initial part of the journey is on foot. It often takes days, walking through south Texas ranch lands that have sandy soil and little to no shade. These conditions are difficult for experienced and well-supplied hikers, but migrants are often fatigued to begin with and carry minimal provisions. Temperatures regularly exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. To further complicate matters, migrants are often told their journey will be no more than a few miles, instead of distances that are up to 40 miles.\r\n\r\nLack of experience and preparation combined with the tough pace set by guides creates a situation in which migrants are susceptible to injury or illness. Smugglers abandon injured or ill migrants and continue pushing their groups north. This complete disregard for human life by smugglers prompted the US Border Patrol (USBP) to expend considerable resources, to save the lives of hundreds of migrants in distress each year, as reported by the Department of Homeland Security.\r\n\r\n "},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":478262,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Managing Rescue Efforts<\/h2>\r\nUSBP rescue efforts begin in the home countries of many migrants. USBP advises migrants who have entered the US illegally and are in distress to immediately call 9-1-1 from a mobile phone. Injured or ill migrants will often wait hours or days for their guide to return for them. When it becomes apparent that the guide is not returning, distressed migrants then call 9-1-1. Brooks and Kenedy counties in south Texas receive hundreds of such calls each year, but state and local officials do not have the staff or resources to respond to all these calls.\r\n\r\nConsequently, USBP has taken a primary role in conducting search and rescue (SAR) operations for migrants in distress. The USBP Missing Migrant Program (MMP) is the lead unit involved in rescues of distressed migrants in the Rio Grande Valley. SAR events often involve multiple offices and assets both in the field and at headquarters. In the Rio Grande Valley, rescue partners include local 9-1-1 dispatch, USBP agents in the field, USBP agents at the Rio Grande Valley Sector headquarters, special operations personnel, and Air and Marine Operations (AMO).\r\n\r\nManaging these events is a complex task with time being the crucial component. Time can mean the difference between life and death for migrants. When a rescue event is initiated, it typically begins at a local 9-1-1 dispatch center. A person in distress dials 9-1-1 for emergency assistance. Once the caller is identified as a migrant, operators transfer the call to USBP. The migrant\u2019s location is reported as either phase 1 or 2, which determines the method used to identify the mobile phone\u2019s location and the relative reliability of that location. USBP has documented errors of up to 40 miles for phase 1 and up to 4 miles for phase 2.\r\n

Coordinating Response<\/h2>\r\nProximity to Mexico means many of the emergency calls are received by C4, Mexico\u2019s emergency services. Currently, C4 does not have the capability to provide coordinates to USBP. In addition, no standard operating procedures were in place for call transfer, so different USBP offices\u2014local stations, dispatch centers, and sector headquarters\u2014received emergency calls.\r\n\r\nResponding offices assuming the primary role for the SAR operation often had their own procedures. USBP personnel asked questions based on local protocols, wrote information down on paper, or entered it digitally, and followed procedures with minimal guidance.\r\n\r\nSAR partners became involved in these events through phone calls and emails requesting support. Agencies providing support were often responding based on information that was thirdhand or even farther removed from its source and could provide an incomplete view of the event. There was potential for critical information to be overlooked or lost. After looking at event response, MMP identified three specific issues:\r\n