SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The search continues for a migrant who has been reported missing after trying to swim around the border barrier Wednesday night.
Tijuana lifeguards say a person notified them that they had lost sight of a woman who was in the process of getting around the border fence that sticks out into the ocean between Tijuana and San Diego.
Juan Hernández, head of the Tijuana Lifeguard Service, said their counterparts north of the border have also provided assistance.
In the past, migrants have been warned about strong currents, cold water and undertows in the area where the female migrant and others have gotten in trouble.
“This is the seventh time this year that we’ve had to look for someone who was unlawfully trying to enter the United States swimming around the barrier.” said Hernández. “We have been able to find and rescue five of them, but two drowned.”
Hernández also said they are convinced others have also tried crossing the border in the water, something he doesn’t recommend.
“We haven’t gotten more reports, but we know there have been others.”
Coincidentally, during a teleconference with reporters on Thursday, Luis Miranda, a Department of Homeland Security spokesman, asked migrants to refrain from making dangerous crossings into the U.S. including by water.
He warned of high temperatures and other dangers along the southern border.
“Dehydration is likely in desert zones and difficult access areas, there’s also the possibility of sustaining injuries when falling from the border wall and drowning in rivers and waterways,” he said.
Miranda also asked migrants to forgo contact with criminal organizations and not to believe “misinformation being put out about crossing the border unlawfully.”
“Illegally crossing is a violation of United States immigration law and it has consequences that include deportation, prevention from getting legal entry in the future, and at times, criminal proceedings,” he said.