Two Border Patrol Agents Assaulted in Separate Incidents in Arizona

Illegal immigrants assaulted two Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents in separate incidents in Arizona on July 14. Neither agent required medical attention after the assaults.

Early on the morning of July 14, an agent monitoring surveillance equipment observed two illegal immigrants running north from the international boundary near San Luis, Arizona. An agent assigned to the Yuma Border Patrol Station arrived on the scene and found one of the migrants hiding in the brush. The agent ordered the migrant in English and Spanish to come out from hiding and lie on the ground, according to information obtained from Yuma Sector Border Patrol officials on Thursday.

The migrant disobeyed commands and jumped up in a fighting stance, officials reported. As the agent attempted to place the man in custody, the migrant elbowed her in the rib cage. Despite the attack, the agent gained physical control of the man and placed him under arrest.

The agents identified the combative migrant as a 31-year-old Mexican national. He now faces federal felony charges of assaulting a federal officer. Agents arrested the second migrant without incident and returned him to Mexico.

Later that same afternoon, another camera operator witnessed a group of illegal immigrants crossing the border near County 9th Street and the Levee Road, Yuma Sector officials reported. A responding agent attempted to take one into custody and escorted him towards the patrol vehicle. The migrant suddenly became aggressive and resisted. He elbowed the agent in the forehead, officials reported. Additional agents responded to the altercation and helped safely place the 22-year-old Honduran national into custody. The agents charged the Honduran man with a felony charge of assaulting a federal agent.

Other agents in the area apprehended three additional migrants and charged them with immigration violations, the report concluded.

Officials stated that neither Border Patrol agent required medical attention and both returned to work and completed their shift.