The Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) is a specialized unit of the

United States Border Patrol The United States Border Patrol (USBP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States' U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs and Border Protection and is responsible for securing ...

trained in emergency search and rescue and medical response. It primarily assists injured or stranded migrants who enter the United States illegally from Mexico at remote desert locations. The BORSTAR national headquarters is in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, and units are stationed in each southwest Border Patrol sector. In 2007, BORSTAR was placed under the command of the newly formed Special Operations Group together with the Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC).

History

BORSTAR divers training in Panama City, Fla

Officials in the Border Patrol's San Diego Sector asked for permission to start a rescue team to help agents and civilians who needed assistance. BORSTAR was created in 1998 in response to the growing number of migrant deaths along the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

. In 1999, a BORSTAR training academy opened in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and in 2001, the unit added rescue dogs.

Training

BORSTAR is composed of volunteer agents from the U.S. Border Patrol. After serving two years, agents may apply to attend the five-week training course. BORSTAR members learn rescue techniques, land navigation, communications, teamwork, tactical medicine, swiftwater rescue, and air operations. They also obtain their basic-level certification as an Emergency Medical Technician. Some members receive additional specialized training which may include watercraft rescue, boat operations, cold weather operations, paramedic training, and SCUBA diving.

Scope of operations

In addition to assisting migrants, BORSTAR units have helped hikers, motorists, and other Border Patrol agents in need of rescue. BORSTAR units have responded to

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

requests for assistance, including

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

rescue operations. The Border Patrol states that "situations vary in difficulty from simply locating victims and providing them with water to complex rescues requiring agents to rappel into remote canyons to assist victims and extract them by helicopter."

References

External links

{{Commons category, BORSTAR
BORSTAR
Emergency services in the United States 1998 establishments in the United States United States Border Patrol

Border Patrol A border guard of a country is a national security agency that performs border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In dif ...