Border Patrol rescues 6-month-old baby after she was tossed into the Rio Grande by human traffickers

Along with the mother and baby, the rafts contained 67 adults and 150 children. It was during the crossing that the child was tossed overboard into the Rio Grande.

The Texas Department of Public Safety's South Texas Special Operations Group assisted in the effort to save the child. Texas DPS Lt. Christopher Olivarez told local news station KEVO that the mother and her baby had been in Mexico awaiting a chance to cross the border since December.

The Texas Department of Public Safety shared news of the rescue to Facebook on March 30, though the rescue was on March 16. The group writes:

"Our South Texas Special Operations Group, Texas Rangers Division, are an integral asset in border security. On 03/16/21, this specialized group assisted U.S. #BorderPatrol in Roma with a 6mo female child who had been thrown out of a raft and into the Rio Grande River by smugglers.

"The child's mother had been assaulted by smugglers in Mexico resulting in a broken leg. This specialized group is a highly trained tactical team whose primary responsibility is to carry out specific missions, usually along the Texas-Mexico border region or wherever needed.

"The team is designed to conduct both overt and extended covert operations in remote areas where conventional law enforcement cannot operate. The teams focus is to gather intelligence, conduct interdiction, and disruption of criminal activity usually associated with drug cartels."

This comes after Border Patrol attempted to rescue a family of three that crossed earlier in March. A mother and her two young children were found unresponsive on an island in the Rio Grande. While the mother and her youngest child survived the ordeal, her 9-year-old daughter died as a result of drowning.

Customs and Border Patrol released a statement as regards that tragedy, saying that the marine unit "found the individuals and immediately began administering first aid while transporting the migrants to shore."

"However," the statement went on to say, "despite efforts by the Border Patrol Agents and Eagle Pass Emergency Medical Services, the 9-year-old daughter did not regain consciousness and was later pronounced deceased."

The Biden administration has issued new border control policies since coming into office that allow the entrance of any and all unaccompanied minor children in to the US, as well as many families.