Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol apprehensions have increased 13% in the first six months of the fiscal year, the USA Today reports. The increase over last year, however, doesn’t mean the border is incredibly busy. In fact, the number of apprehensions – 189,172 – is still near historic lows. Does this mean the U.S. is on…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Border Patrol agent who died while vacationing in Hawaii will be buried today after a funeral service in his hometown of San Diego, KSWT reports. Kris Gungon, 31, accidentally drowned two weeks ago while swimming near a waterfall. Gungon is survived by his wife and 5-month-old daughter. They were not swimming…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Border Patrol agents are in the dark about a lot of things these days. With the fiscal year halfway through, agents still don’t know whether they will have furlough days or overtime reductions, the Arizona Daily Star reports. A plan submitted by Customs and Border Protection to Congress seeks to eliminate the…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The sequestration is taking a toll on Border Patrol protection as agents begin rationing fuel and use fewer cars for patrol, KHOU.com reports. “We’ll have the same number of agents — just fewer vehicles,” said Rob Russell of the National Border Patrol Council. Russell, who works with the local El Paso area…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A 19-year-old man Guatemalan pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally crossing the U.S. border and stabbing a Border Patrol dog in the neck, the Associated Press reports. Luis Gilberto Cruz-Solis could be sentenced up to a year in prison next month. He pleaded guilty to willfully and maliciously harming a police animal and…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A Border Patrol agent was rescued after tumbling down a 15-foot bluff while on solo patrol in remote mountains in San Diego County, ABC 10 News reports. The agent suffered head, arm and leg injuries around 7 a.m. Tuesday and radioed his colleagues for help. Fellow agents rushed to his side and…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com Federal prosecutors released video of a Border Patrol agent accused of beating a Mexican immigrant while in custody, CBS 8 in San Diego reports. The agent in the video was found not guilty by a jury last month on excessive force charges. The video shows Agent Luis Fonseca repeatedly choking and kicking…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The head of the U.S. Border Patrol told senators Tuesday that rules of engagement are too constraining and making it difficult to combat armed drug cartel spotters while atop U.S. mountains, the Washington Times reports. Cartels traditionally send out spotters on U.S. territory to inspect border protection. Border Patrol Chief Michael J….
