SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Cleanup continues in the midwest and southern states after deadly storms brought tornados and severe flooding to the region.
San Diego Border Patrol agents have been deployed to help.
Ten members of the sector's Mobile Response Team (MRT) were deployed last weekend. The agents were sent to Arkansas and Tennessee.
The agents who are a part of the MRT have more training than a regular agent and can be deployed and used for whatever is needed at the scene of the emergency or natural disaster. The unit was created in 2011.
"Maintain order during these kind of chaotic events, but they're not above digging ditches to help with irrigation during these flooding events. They're helping secure different locations, secure the FEMA resources that are down there," says Eric Lavergne, a special operations supervisor for the agency.
Pictures from the team on the ground show agents working with a group from Nebraska, doing everything from digging ditches to helping with swift water rescues.
"Our main mission is to secure the border, but when the citizens of the country need help, we're there to help. So, we're not doing immigration enforcement or anything like that; we're out there, we're there to help the communities; we're there to get them back on their feet," says Lavergne.
The plan is to keep the team in the flood zones for another week, but that could be re-evaluated depending on the need in the Southeast.
