Border Patrol Chief Paul Ortiz said his agency won’t be deterred by a spate of attacks targeting agents at the border.
So far this month, agents have been shot at, and one was struck and dragged by a car at a border checkpoint in Texas.
“U.S. Border Patrol agents continue their unwavering commitment to provide border and national security to the American public despite recent attacks against them along our Southwest border,” Ortiz said in a statement Tuesday. “We take these threats and acts of violence seriously and will do everything we can to identify and bring those to justice who have sought to harm the men and women of the Border Patrol.”
Earlier this month, agents came under fire along the Juárez-El Paso border. An agent was patrolling the border when about five shots rang out from Juárez. He took cover and was not injured.
Four days earlier, about 20 gunshots were fired at a Border Patrol agent who was patrolling in El Paso’s Lower Valley. The quick-acting agent also took cover and wasn’t injured.
The FBI is investigating the shootings. The agency didn’t say whether there were other recent shootings.
About a week ago, a 37-year-old man smuggling a migrant in Texas used his car to strike and drag an agent at the Ysleta Station checking in El Paso County. He was arrested and charged.
Ortiz said Border Patrol agents are well-trained and equipped to respond to attacks. But, he said, the violence is a reminder of the dangers facing agents.
Ortiz said federal law enforcement will vigorously investigate the attacks and bring the suspects to justice.
