FALFURRIAS, Texas — A pair of emergency beacons have been placed in south Texas to help stranded illegal immigrants as they try to head north from the border along a popular desert trail, the U.S. Border Patrol said.
The beacons are designed to alert authorities if an immigrant or anyone else finds himself in distress in the rugged terrain.
“These beacons will be a way of gaining immediate medical attention or assistance,” Border Patrol spokesman John Lopez said. “They will utilize them if they are in a dire need.”
The two-story-tall red steel posts are solar powered, with mirrors to make them more visible during the day and lit up at night, Lopez said.
The beacons have instructions in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
Similar beacons have been in use in the Arizona desert since 2002.
