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Migrant mom falls from US-Mexico border fence, is impaled in front of her children

Migrant mom falls from US-Mexico border fence, is impaled in front of her children
Posted at 6:07 PM, Nov 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-26 18:19:33-05

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Authorities said a migrant woman was impaled by pieces of rebar after trying to climb a fence at the U.S.-Mexico border with her two small children.

Border Patrol agent Tekae Michael says the 26-year-old Guatemalan woman fell near the San Ysidro Port of Entry Friday night and landed on pieces of rebar that pierced one side of her body. Paramedics took her to a hospital for treatment.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the children, ages 3 and 5, were not hurt. The woman told agents she was not part of the migrant caravan that traveled from Central America to the Mexican border city of Tijuana. She was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

“Entering our country illegally, particularly over our walls, is not only dangerous, but also very foolish,” San Diego’s Chief Border Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said Saturday. “This woman placed her own life and her children’s lives in peril. She could have easily died if not for the quick response by our agents and EMS.”

The rebar is part of ongoing work to replace decades-old fencing. It’s not related to the American military’s recent mission to fortify the fence in response to the caravan.