see also: in July 2005 Press Releases:   Companies Using Wood Packaging Material to Import Their Goods: Enforcement Begins on September 16   CBP Border Patrol Agents Intercept Drug Cache   CBP Border Patrol Agents Find 74 Pounds of Cocaine   CBP Border Patrol Finds Smuggling Victim Abandoned in Desert   Millennium Bomber Sentenced to 22 Years   $2.5 M Worth in Marijuana Seized in Big Bend National Forest   Container Security Initiative Port of Kaohsiung is Operational ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Calexico, CA – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents rescued three illegal aliens who were trapped inside a burning vehicle near Calexico, California.

On July 20, 2005 at approximately 6:50 pm, CBP Border Patrol agents observed four people entering the United States illegally and enter a two-door Ford Thunderbird. Agents attempted to stop the vehicle and the driver failed to yield. The driver attempted to turn around to head back south toward Mexico. As it turned, the vehicle became stuck in the dirt on the side of the road and the engine caught fire. The driver and the front-seat passenger exited the vehicle and attempted to flee. The remaining three aliens were laying on the floor behind the fully reclined front seats in an attempt to conceal themselves. They were unable to move the seats in order to escape the burning vehicle. Agents determined that the fire was too advanced to be quickly extinguished. Risking their own safety, agents pulled the three illegal aliens from the burning vehicle. The driver and passenger, who were both identified as smugglers, were apprehended after a short foot-chase.

El Centro Sector Chief Carl L. McClafferty stated, “In our twofold role as Federal Agents, our Calexico Border Patrol Agents saved three illegal aliens from a burning vehicle, while also apprehending the smugglers who abandoned them with complete disregard for human life. The El Centro Sector intends to prosecute the smugglers to the fullest extent allowed by law.”

For more information about CBP Border Patrol, visit their website at http://www.usbp.gov/. If you are interested in a Border Patrol career visit their application website at http://staffing.opm.gov/bpa/.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.