Immigrant Aunt of Killed Border Agent Wants Trump’s Wall, Father Says Agent was Attacked

The immigrant aunt of recently killed Border Patrol Agent Rogelio Martinez told The New York Times that she supports Trump’s border wall and asked how many more agents have to die before we secure our border. The agent’s father told the paper that he saw his son’s wounds on his head and believed that his son had been attacked.

The aunt was identified as a former illegal immigrant who now holds a green card and the father was identified as having been born in Mexico and now being a U.S. citizen. He reportedly came to the U.S. as a temporary migrant construction worker.

Agent Martinez’s death and the severe injuries to another agent have sparked intense concerns across the political spectrum. Fellow Border Patrol agents believe the agents were attacked by illegal aliens and federal agencies are staying tight-lipped and refusing to rule out anything or to share any meaningful information on the matter. Breitbart Texas broke the news that one agent had died and another hospitalized in severe condition. This outlet also first reported on the allegations from agents on the ground that the agents had been attacked.

Caitlin Dickerson of the The New York Times thoughtfully interviewed the slain agent’s family members and identified the incident as an “apparent attack.” She wrote:

Around 3 a.m. Sunday, Jose Martinez was awakened at home in El Paso with the phone call he had long dreaded.

Summoned to the University Medical Center of El Paso, where doctors were trying in vain to resuscitate his son, Mr. Martinez got a sense of what had happened in the desert about 100 miles away when he saw Rogelio’s bloodied head.

“It was difficult to look at,” he said.

She also quoted the agent’s father and wrote, “What I don’t like is at night, there is only one person,” he said, speaking in Spanish. Referring to his son’s attackers, he said: “I think they put a trap.”

The piece quoted Agent Martinez’s aunt:

Agent Martinez’s aunt, Olivia Barnes, had once lived in the United States illegally after overstaying a tourist visa. She has since obtained a green card, but said on Monday that she supported Mr. Trump’s plan to build a wall across the entire border because it could help to keep people like her nephew safe.

“I’m angry,” she said, “How many agents have to die to give security to the country?”

The report asserted that the family of Agent Martinez contained members with a wide variety of views on immigration matters. The father told The Times that Agent Martinez was very proud to protect his country, but at times felt conflicted about arresting so many Latinos.

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon.  You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.