A rare 'must read' from me:
Graphic Photos Show Brutal Consequences
of Open Border on Rural Texas County
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The brutal consequences of our open border are highlighted by the bodies of hundreds of illegal immigrants who died in one Texas county located 80 miles inland from Mexico. In total, 618 corpses have been found since 2009 — many of the deceased have never been identified and their loved ones simply never heard from the migrant again after they crossed the border into the U.S.
Photos released to Breitbart Texas by the Brooks County Sherrif’s Office in Falfurrias, Texas, tell the graphic story of what remains after these illegal immigrants are abandoned by human smugglers and left to die.
“What happens to these people is horrible,” Brooks County Sheriff Benny Martinez told Breitbart Texas in a phone interview. “These photos represent what our deputies see when they are called out by Border Patrol agents and ranchers to recover the decomposing bodies or skeletal remains of people who experience frightening and often painful deaths after being abandoned by human smugglers.”
So far this year, Martinez’s deputies have been called out to recover the bodies or remains of 34 migrants who died in the fields of Brooks County.
Dying of thirst is often a frightening and painful experience for the victim, officials say. In Brooks County, the migrants are frequently left by themselves when they become injured, dehydrated, suffer heat exhaustion, or for any other reason cannot keep up, the sheriff explained. “Often their own family members are forced to leave their loved one behind by these callous human smugglers,” Marinez said.
The victim is then left alone, in fear of what is likely their inevitable death.
“Other times, their loved ones must sit by helplessly and watch them die,” Martinez said.
University of Pennsylvania nephrologist, Dr. Jeffrey Berns said, “Thirst, as you probably know, is one of the most potent drives for behavior we have. It may be the most potent we have, more than even hunger,” in a 2014 Washington Post interview. “People are going to be miserable.”
The article continues:
“All the cells will shrink,” Berns said, “but the ones that count are the brain cells. They don’t operate normally when they’re’ shrinking.” Changes in mental status will follow, including confusion and ultimately coma, he said. As the brain becomes smaller, it takes up less room in the skull and blood vessels connecting it to the inside of the cranium can pull away and rupture.
This man, who died of dehydration, during a wilderness survival exercise, suffered delirium and hallucinations before he succumbed, according to an Associated Press investigation.
Victims’ kidneys may shut down first, Berns said, as they continue to lack access to both water and salt. The kidneys cleanse the blood of waste products which, under normal conditions, are excreted in urine. Without water, blood volume will decline and all the organs will start to fail, he said. Kidney failure will soon lead to disastrous consequences and ultimately death as blood volume continues to fall and waste products that should be eliminated from the body remain.
Sheriff Martinez said it is important for people to see what happens to these victims so they do not just become numbers on a report. “These are real people who die horrible deaths because we will not get serious about securing our border and stopping the abuses committed by human smugglers,” he said. “I know these images are graphic, but this is what our people have seen more than 600 times since 2009.”
Following are photos released by Sheriff Martinez and the basic information collected by his deputies in seven of this year’s 34 victims:
Victim 1: Mariano Ramirez-Quintanilla
Officials are fortunate to have identification documents with the body of this Honduran national. Frequently, there are no such means of identifying the remains and other forensic investigations are required. The task then falls on the Webb County Medical Examiner to determine the victim’s identity and make notifications to waiting families.
Mariano Ramirez-Quintanilla, a 41-year-old Honduran national who died in Brooks County, Texas, in June 2018. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Mariano Ramirez-Quintanilla, a 41-year-old Honduran national who died in Brooks County, Texas, in June 2018. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
Brooks County deputies were called to the scene on June 13 along with Justice of the Peace Rolando Garza. Border Patrol agents escorted them to the scene of Mariano Ramirez-Quintanilla’s death. The inquest documents describe him as a 41-year-old Hispanic male.
Identification photo of Mariano Ramirez-Quintanilla. (Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Identification photo of Mariano Ramirez-Quintanilla. (Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
Officials found the Honduran illegal immigrant lying face down beneath a tree located on a ranch in the southwest part of the county. His feet were bare, likely a result of animals attempting access the flesh.
After wrapping the man’s body in a sheet and placing it in a body bag, officials carried the remains until they could be placed in a vehicle. Officials transported the body to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office where an autopsy will be conducted.
Victim 2: Wilber Francisco Colindres Peralta
The near-skeletal remains of Wilber Francisco Colindres Peralta were also discovered on June 13 on a different ranch located west of the town of Encino, Texas. This area is a well-known area where smugglers to drop off their “human cargo” to begin their march around the Border Patrol Checkpoint located on U.S. Highway 281.
Officials discovered this victim’s remains lying on his back underneath a tree as he apparently attempted to find some shelter from the near 100-degree heat of the South Texas summer.
Near-skeletal remains of a man identified as Wilber Francisco Colindres Peralta, a 23-year-old Honduran national. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Near-skeletal remains of a man identified as Wilber Francisco Colindres Peralta, a 23-year-old Honduran national. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
In this case, decomposition left the victim’s identification card as the only means of immediate identification. The Honduran national was just over 23-year-old when he forfeited his life in an attempt to illegally come into the United States.
(Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
(Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
It appears that animals scattered the victim’s shoes and other artifacts in an attempt to consume the flesh from his remains.
Officials transported Colindres Peralta’s remains to the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
Victim 3: Identity Unknown at this Time
The following morning, Brooks County deputies responded to another call to recover the body of an abandoned migrant. Deputy Bianca Mora reported that when she and the justice of the peace arrived they found a man lying underneath a brushy area where he apparently collapsed. The man’s appeared to have recently died as advanced decomposition had not set in. Unfortunately, the man did not have identification.
Unidentified body of an illegal immigrant found dead in Brooks County. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Unidentified body of an illegal immigrant found dead in Brooks County. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
Officials found the victim on a ranch located slightly northwest of the Border Patrol Checkpoint. He appeared to be fairly close to the end of his march when he gave out. Someone who apparently cared for the man left a bottle of water, and a bag of tortillas between his feet.
A small supply of food and water left behind with this migrant was apparently not enough to keep him alive. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
A small supply of food and water left behind with this migrant was apparently not enough to keep him alive. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
While the victim had no identification, an examination of his body uncovered foreign currency and several phone numbers and names on small scraps of paper. It is not known if those are family members or other people he was to contact in the human smuggling train.
He also had a cell phone that he was apparently unable to use to call for help.
Victim 4: Identity Unknown at this Time
Brooks County Deputy Emanuel Galaviz joined a justice of the peace and Border Patrol agents on a ranch located in the western part of the county, about a mile and a half south of FM 285. Border Patrol agents found the remains of an illegal immigrant lying on his side near a fence.
Unidentified body of an illegal immigrant found dead near the end of his journey through Brooks County. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Unidentified body of an illegal immigrant found dead near the end of his journey through Brooks County. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
The migrant’s journey around the checkpoint was nearly completed when he succumbed to the lack of water or the heat. FM 285 is a well-known pickup spot for illegal immigrants who have successfully circumvented the Border Patrol Checkpoint.
Guatemalan currency found on unidentified migrant who died in Brooks County after being abandoned by human smugglers. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Guatemalan currency found on unidentified migrant who died in Brooks County after being abandoned by human smugglers. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
No identification documents were found at the scene of his death. Officials reported the man wore a long sleeve black shirt, jeans, a black belt, and black shoes. He was carrying a small amount of currency from Guatemala. He also had a cell phone battery. Officials found no phone at the scene.
Victim 5: Omar Mendez Perez
Brooks County officials received a call on June 18 from a rancher who reported that young woman came up to him asking for help for her father. Deputy Elias Pompa arrived on the ranch located several miles northwest of the Border Patrol Checkpoint and interviewed the woman he identified as 23-year-old Cindy Vanessa Mendez.
Cindy Vanessa Mendez kneels over her father's body. Omar Mendez Perez died after being left behind by human smugglers after he fell ill and was unable to keep up. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Cindy Vanessa Mendez kneels over her father’s body. Omar Mendez Perez died after being left behind by human smugglers after he fell ill and was unable to keep up. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
The rancher initially tried to help Mendez find her father but had no success. Another ranch workers eventually found the deceased man about an hour later.
The woman told Pompa that she and her father were traveling with a group of illegal immigrants through the brush-covered ranch. Her father, who suffered from high blood pressure became ill and could not keep up. The smuggler told the group to keep moving and left them behind.
When the deputy and ranch worker came upon the site where the victim died, they found him slumped over in a kneeling position over three water jugs. He was in a grassy area in sandy fields that make walking extremely difficult and exhausting. The site is located about three miles inside the ranch.
Omar Mendez Perez died in Brooks County after being abandoned and left to die by human smugglers. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff's Office)
Omar Mendez Perez died in Brooks County after being abandoned and left to die by human smugglers. (Photo: Brooks County Sheriff’s Office)
Identification documents confirmed the man as a Honduran national, Omar Mendez Perez (age 46).
