Several illegal immigrants attacked Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector during a 24-hour period.
Two agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Station sustained minor injuries when a Guatemalan national attacked them during an arrest. The man struck one agent in the neck with his elbow and kicked the other agents, according to information obtained by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Border Patrol Supervisory Agent Marlene Castro. The agents fought with the suspect and eventually placed him under arrest. The Guatemalan is charged with assault on a federal officer. The agents sustained minor injuries during the assault.
At about that same time, a Mexican national “became aggressive” with agents attempting to take him into custody. The illegal alien charged the Weslaco Border Patrol Station agents after crossing the border near Progreso Lakes, Texas. After wrestling the Mexican national to the ground, the agents placed him in handcuffs and arrested him. While the agents marched the suspect to their vehicle, the Mexican man attacked them again by attempting to strike the agents. Castro did not indicate if there were any injuries sustained by the agents. Charges against the man are pending at this time.
The following morning, another aggressive Mexican national attempted to escape custody by throwing dirt at an agent assigned to the McAllen Border Patrol Station. The dirt struck the agent in the face, leaving him temporarily blinded. The Mexican alien fled. Other agents searched for the suspect and eventually took him into custody. The agent was transported to a local hospital where he was “medically cleared,” Castro stated. Charges against the Mexican national are currently pending.
“Apprehension levels began to decrease as law, policy, and strategy aligned. Unfortunately, we are now seeing an increase in assaults against our agents,” Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. said in a written statement. “Attacks against agents will not be tolerated and we will work to pursue prosecution against violators.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection records obtained by Breitbart Texas reveal an alarming trend of increasing aggression against Border Patrol agents. Late last year, then-Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan testified before Congress that Border Patrol agents are the most assaulted of all federal law enforcement officers and agents. Since that time, records indicate a 179 percent increase in assaults on Border Patrol agents during this current fiscal year which began on October 1. The report reveals statistics through February 28.
Since that time, Breitbart Texas reported multiple attacks on Border Patrol agents. During a three-day period, multiple agents assigned to the San Diego Sector were attacked in separate incidents. One incident involved the agent’s vehicle being rammed by the vehicle of a fleeing human smuggler. A second suspect, a Mexican national who had just illegally crossed the border near Otay Mesa, California, attacked an agent with a knife. The agent subdued the suspect without receiving any injury. In the third incident, a Mexican national became aggressive and attacked the agents attempting to take him into custody. He allegedly kicked and struck the agents before being placed in handcuffs.
A few days earlier, an agent came under attack by people throwing large rocks at him from the other side of the border as they attempted to apprehend an illegal border crosser. The agent fled to his vehicle and did not sustain any injuries, but the rock throwers managed to smash the windshield of his patrol vehicle.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.
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