Most of the time when the words "border patrol" are spoken, one thinks of those who hunt coyotes, check passports, search for drugs, and keep the borders safe. But there is another part of the border patrol that, while they participate in those same things, they have a different role: search, trauma and rescue.

The BORSTAR unit is a highly specialized team that's trained in a lot of different disciplines related to search and rescue," said Supervisor Gerardo Carrasco. "It definitely adds a different side to being a border patrol agent, doing this job," said Agent Julie Gallagher.

It's not just about criminals crossing the border; there are also many women and children crossing to look for a better life. The problem is, they simply do not understand how brutal the desert can be. "In an environment where there is very little water and you don't have help get to you within a few hours, you're not going to last very long out there," Carrasco said. BORSTAR agents said summer is their busiest time for rescues because of the extreme weather conditions but that they work the fine line between rescuing and arresting suspected illegal immigrants all year long. "We work law enforcement just as hard as we work our rescues," Gallagher said.

It can be an emotionally difficult job, never knowing what condition they will find a victim in. Carrasco said, "You have to keep your emotions under control and prepare for the worse". Once someone has been rescued and cared for, they are sent back to Mexico. One rescued victim said, "I will come again, but next time, I'll do it legally."

Pray:

•    For the safety of the BORSTAR unit as they come to the aid of injured and dehydrated border crossers. Pray that the BORSTAR unit will have wisdom in dealing with the complex issues of illegal migrants.
•    For the BORSTAR unit's protection from the mental stress and emotional trauma they face on a daily basis.
•    For those considering crossing the border illegally - that they understand all the dangers involved and choose to respect the laws of the land.

PRAISES!
•    The Mexican press reported last Friday that a cousin of Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, one of the world's most wanted drug lords, was arrested in Madrid along with a politician aligned with the party of President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto.
•    The Mexican Marines have arrested Jorge Luis Martínez Rodríguez alias El Taz, the presumed leader for the Zetas in Campeche. He was responsible for the trafficking of stolen fuel and drugs.
•    The Mexican Army has arrested Lamberto Gurrola Hernandez, alias "El Gato", the alleged leader of the Sinaloa Cartel in southern part of the state of Chihuahua. He confessed to being responsible for performing the "execution" of more than 100 people in the central-southern part of the state.
•    The Mexican military announced the arrest of Sergio Armando Barrera Salcedo, alias "El Checo" and six accomplices, in possession of 1.1 kilos of cocaine, half a kilo of marijuana, seven guns and two pistols. He is linked to the Sinaloa cartel, and at the time of arrest was coordinating the receipt of ½ ton of cocaine by sea.

Is There a Fox Guarding the Henhouse?

As Mexican cartels attempt to expand their drug and human smuggling operations, they are becoming "increasingly" involved in the "systemic corruption" of the US Department of Homeland Security's personnel. Their expansion includes the trafficking of aliens from terrorism-linked countries into the U.S., the DHS acting inspector general told lawmakers earlier this month.

"As the United States enhances border security with successful technologies and increased staffing to disrupt smuggling routes and networks, drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have become not only more violent and dangerous, but more clever as well. The DTOs have turned to recruiting and corrupting DHS employees," Charles Edwards, the acting DHS inspector general, said.

Edwards said border corruption may take the form of cash bribes, sexual favors, and other gratuities in return for U.S. employees allowing contraband or illegal aliens through primary inspection lanes - "or even protecting and escorting border crossings." Edwards also said U.S. employees may be bribed to leak or sell sensitive law enforcement information to smugglers and provide them with necessary documents such as immigration papers.

"A corrupt DHS employee may accept a bribe for allowing what appear to be simply undocumented aliens into the U.S. while unwittingly helping terrorists enter the country," Edwards said. "Likewise, what seems to be drug contraband could be weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical or biological weapons or bomb-making materials."

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner David Aguilar, who testified alongside Edwards, said that 141 CBP employees "have been arrested or indicted for acts of corruption" since October 2004.

CBP has an estimated 47,000-strong workforce, including about 21,000 Border Patrol agents. It should be noted that the 141 CBP employees who have been arrested or indicted for corruption represents less than one percent of the entire force. Yet when it comes to guarding the nation, everyone counts.

PRAY:
•    For all Department of Homeland Security employees to have the strength, courage and conviction to uphold the US laws and constitution and to continue to serve this nation with integrity and honesty. Pray that they will not yield to the enticements or threats of the DTOs.
•    For any and all corruption to be exposed at every level of DHS. Pray that appropriate actions will be taken to bring justice to those who have fallen and prudent safeguards, if needed, to be put in place.
•    For God to encourage the 99% of the DHS employees working hard to protect America and that He will give them a fresh vitality to do their job with excellence.
•    We continue to pray that the cartels will fail and fall in their efforts to corrupt and that God's peace will fill our borderlands and our nation.

He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart.  1 Corinthians 4:5b (NIV)

Mora, Edwin. "CNSNews.com." Mexican Cartels 'Increasingly' Corrupting DHS Employees to Smuggle Aliens From Countries 'Likely to Export Terrorism' N.p., 22 Aug. 2012. Web. 23 Aug. 2012. http://cnsnews.com/news/article/mexican-cartels-increasingly-corrupting-dhs-employees-smuggle-aliens-countries-likely

PRAISES!
•    A Russian citizen, identified as a terrorist by the United States, was arrested in Tijuana, and had accomplices linked to the Sinaloa cartel, said the Secretary of Public Security of Baja California, Daniel de la Rosa Anaya. Georgiy Chipunov is accused of threatening to blow up judicial court facilities in San Diego, California, and assassinate judges and other US officials. Following his arrest, he was extradited to the United States where he is considered highly dangerous.
•    Gulf drug cartel boss, Lauro Tijerina Murrieta, and three other suspected members of the criminal organization were captured Monday, August 20, by marines in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, the Navy Secretariat said Tuesday.
•    Police in the northwestern Mexican state of Baja California seized more than $1 million that the Sinaloa cartel had made from drug sales in Los Angeles, security officials said. It was part of the large sum of millions of dollars being shipped to the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel.

August 21, 2012: The rainy season has begun in the Sudans. The result is less fighting, though small-scale actions continue in Sudan’s Blue Nile and South Kordofan states and in the Darfur region, and tribal violence continues to plague South Sudan. The various factions in both Sudans are always talking about peace, or at least talking about talking about peace, but the impact of the new oil production and transport agreement, reached on August 3, on the various armed conflicts has yet to be determined. Sudan and South Sudan remain locked in a frozen war.