San Diego Border Patrol agents have been attacked twice in the last week on the U.S.-Mexico border. This included when they were assisting a four-year-old boy, who was injured and abandoned after he had been thrown over the wall.
Customs and Border Protection said in a press release that on Monday, agents near San Ysidro Port of Entry assisted a 4-year-old child who was injured after being dropped by an illegal alien over the primary border fence.
CBP said that agents reported hearing the ricochet and impact of gunshots coming off the secondary border fence just north of where they were located.
Agents told everyone to cover up, including the San Diego Fire Department and medical services. A CBP helicopter and CBP’s Office of Field Operations Special Response Team responded to offer support. Mexican law enforcement responded as well after authorities alerted them.
This shocking incident occurred just days after a Border Patrol Agent reported being shot at in the San Ysidro Mountains on Saturday. CBP said that air assets were called in and they saw several individuals near the border. One individual appeared to be holding a rifle.
Border violence poses a serious threat to public security and the Border Patrol agents tasked with protecting our nation’s border. In a recent statement, San Diego Sector Chief Agent Aaron Heitke stated that this is just another example of the dangers agents face on a daily basis.
He said, “We take these events seriously and we are working with our law enforcement partners from the U.S.A. and Mexico to determine the source of the shooting.”
These incidents show not only how dangerous it is for agents, but also criminals and smugglers they have to deal with and stop from entering the U.S.
Raul Ortiz, the Border Patrol chief, said that in a span of one week 18 Border Patrol agents were assaulted. Agents also apprehended eight sex criminals and four gang members.
Fox reported that Border Patrol agents in April encountered 16 individuals on the FBI terror watchlist who were attempting to illegally enter the U.S. at the southern border.
CBP statistics show that agents from Border Patrol stopped 16 people in April, which is more than the four fiscal years (17, 18, 19, and 20, combined).
So far, there have been 98 encounters between the ports of entry at the southern and north borders in FY 23. This is the same number as in FY 22. In FY21 there were 16, 3 in each of FY20 and FY19, 6, in FY18, and 2 in FY12.
