Illegal immigrant women say they were assaulted

Border Patrol agents apprehended two female illegal immigrants Thursday morning who say they were assaulted by their smuggler.

Around 7:45 a.m., an agent encountered two women near milepost 20 on Arivaca Road who “showed visible injuries and appeared to be dehydrated,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Border Patrol said in a statement.

The women told agents they were struck repeatedly by the man smuggling their group through the desert, Saturday, after they told him they were tired and needed to slow down. The women were then abandoned in a remote area of the desert, they told agents.

One woman said she lost consciousness, the other had bruises on her face and experienced back pain, the statement said.

Green Valley Fire District responded to the scene and the women were later transported to a local hospital.

“Human smugglers are extremely dangerous and have no regard for the safety of the people they smuggle into the United States illegally,” the Border Patrol said.

Since Oct. 1, 2007 through April 30, the Tucson Sector Border Patrol has rescued 130 illegal immigrants from life and death situations, the majority of which had been abandoned in the desert by their smugglers.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726