Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine team keeps borders safe from above

If you’ve seen the blue and white helicopters flying over the Rio Grande, you may assume they’re part of Customs and Border Protection.

What you may not know is that the choppers are part of the agency’s specialAir and Marine team.

CBP’s Air and Marine team is often seen in the skies but what exactly they do and how they do it, for the most part, remain unseenby the public.

ABC-7spent a few days with the team to get a closer look.

The shift begins with a quick briefing. Their top priority? The weather which is critical to their operation.

Next on the list, a hotspot where illegal immigrants are reportedly crossing the border.

The team then heads off for a quick chopper check and the mission begins.

First stop, the border near Mt. Cristo Rey.

The view from up there is incredible but sightseeing isn’t what they’re after.

They’re on the hunt for signs of illegal border crossers on the trails.

“Clothes and backpacks and stuff like that is a good telltale sign you’re on the right track,” said one of the pilots, who wished to be anonymous.

It may be the right track for that day, butthe nextcould be another story.

Illegal immigrants and drug smugglers are constantly changing their routes, keeping agents like these on the move.

“For two weeks they can be in Fabens then the next two weeks in could be in Ysleta. The next two weeks it’ll be in Ft. Hancock,” said the pilot.

Whether it’s downtown or Ft. Hancock, it takes only minutes to act.

The pilot tells us,”As soon as anything happens, you can be in the air in less thanfive minutes, if that.”

But in their haste, they can’t afford to lose their focus. “Big thing we’ve had to face is rocks,” said the pilot.

Choppers often descend low to the ground, getting closeups of the crossers, even helping them when they need it.

If needed, Air and Marine agents are prepared to touch down in case they need to rescue illegal immigrants in distress or even an agent in trouble.

The chopper’s not the only asset they have.

The team has a jet too.

It’s used for protecting our border from illegal aircraft, sometimes used by drug smugglers.

Theypracticed what’s called an aircraft interception.

A planeentersU.S. airspace illegally.

After a warning, protocol is for thejetto escort the plane to the nearest airport.

“It’s risky in nature,” said Director of Operations Michael Wimberly.

With the rocks, the smugglers and the machinery the team faces danger everyday.

“They do a marvelous job in extremely hazardous conditions, trainning hard working day and night, 24/7, out doing this job to protect the community,” said Wimberly.

They protect thecommunity and the country, keeping Americans safe –they say — from above.

The CBP’s Air and Marine team covers eight ports of entry twelve border patrol stations and 268 miles of border, all to keep us safe.