Back in the middle of September, CBP was caught unprepared when some 15,000 to 30,000 migrants (the actual figure has been lost in the confusion) mostly Haitian nationals crossed the Rio Grande near the town of Del Rio, Texas, and camped out under the international bridge there, waiting to be processed and released into the United States. He was a Trooper with the Texas Highway Patrol before promoting to CID Special Agent. On Wednesday morning, Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Austin Skero confirmed Morales' death while off duty. By Andrew R. Arthur on January 25, 2022. An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. One agent was shot and the other returned fire, killing one of the gunmen. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. DPS special agent killed following car crash near Eagle Pass 1 year 1 month 5 days ago Saturday, January 22 2022 Jan 22, 2022 January 22, 2022 3:26 PM January 22, 2022 in News - Immigration . A CBP official told VICE News the gunman was killed by a member of Border Patrols elite BORTAC special operations unit, the agencys equivalent to a SWAT team. The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization founded in 1985. Anfinsen said other agents, including some who were off-duty, acted bravely by working to extract children from classrooms as the shootout was still unfolding. The track record has not been one of building trust with these communities.. More troubling, however, according to Breitbart: The source, not authorized to speak to the media, told Breitbart Texas the delays in the investigation may have more to do with avoiding the political fallout of such a quick rush to judgment than the time it took multiple investigative agencies to analyze the evidence and reach a conclusion. The leading cause of death for agents during 2021 was COVID-19. According to multiple reports, the agent ofCBP's Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) ran into the school while the shooter kept inflicting pain.. The agent, a member of CBPs Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC), rushed into the school while the shooter was still active and began exchanging rounds with the gunman, who was barricaded inside a fourth-grade classroom, NBC and Fox reported. Perhaps thats when the contrition will commence. Border Patrol is well liked in Uvalde, Anfinsen said. Also still unexplained is how he was able to evade a school resource officer and local cops and get into the school through a back door, then lock himself inside a classroom, where he apparently had plenty of time to methodically gun down the 9- and 10-year-olds he found inside. Uvalde is a town of roughly 16,000 people, situated between San Antonio and Del Rio . In one shot, captured by the photojournalist Paul Ratje, an agent lunges forward to grab a young mans shirt; the man, who has since been identified as Mirard Joseph, is carrying nothing more threatening than food for his wife and daughter. At 8:50 p.m. Saturday, Agent Doss, a 49-year-old Resident Agent, with the United States Border Patrol, in Abilene, TX responded to a call for assistance from Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) trooper on the Interstate 20 frontage road. "The death of an Agent who died while securing our nation's border is a tremendous loss for our organization and our nation; our prayers are with his family and co-workers during this difficult time," said U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz in the statement. Given all the folderol and hand-wringing that had surrounded the Del Rio incident, and the fact that the agents involved had their lives turned upside down, you would expect that the conclusion of the investigation to have merited at least some apology from the president, vice president, and secretary. Latham, wearing his uniform, was handcuffed and had been murdered with his own service weapon. Order was only really restored after Texas state troopers positioned their vehicles on the riverbank, but before that occurred, mounted Border Patrol agents were brought in to restore some control; it was only at that point that the administration came unhinged. The Texas-Mexico border has seen multiple deadly accidents in recent years stemming from immigration-related pursuits. A lock ( A CBP official could not confirm to VICE News that the wounded agent is the one who killed the gunman, as Texas governor said was the case on Wednesday. Agent Hunter Labombard of the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector lost his life on Wednesday night in a tragic accident. An off-duty Customs and Border Protection agent from an elite tactical unit is the hero who shot and killed the Robb Elementary School gunman before he could continue his massacre, reports said Wednesday. Special Agent Salas, 37, joined the Department in 2013 and was stationed in El Paso. But Adam Isaacson, director of defense oversight at WOLA, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that promotes human rights in Latin America, said a promise from federal immigration authorities may no longer be trusted after years of hardline enforcement. Probably not. Border Patrol agents are undoubtedly part of the fabric of the community in Uvalde, located about 70 miles east of the Del Rio port of entry on the Mexican border. Fernando Morales, 51, was assigned to the Border Patrols Del Rio Sector. His body was found outside of the border city of Eagle Pass, Maverick County, in a ditch about 200 yards off Highway 277 and north of Eagle Pass around noon on Saturday, January 28th, 1984. United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service, US. On Friday, January 27th, 1984, four men committed a jewelry robbery in Cuidad Acuna, Mexico, and crossed into the United States at the Del Rio Port of Entry. The Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal charges against a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Border Patrol agent for the fatal shooting of the late Sergio Hernandez-Guereca, a 15-year-old Mexican national shot within a spillway of the Rio Grande . That included between 80 to 100 on-duty and off-duty agents along with some who were in training. Jon Anfinsen, president of Local 2366 of the National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents Border Patrol employees in the Del Rio sector, told VICE News that the agents who arrived on the scene entered the school as quickly as possible. The six UDAs were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and turned over to the Border Patrol. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio . United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service, U.S. Government. CBP Releases Statement on Use of Force Incident and Death in Douglas, Arizona. Photographs taken at the scene showed uniformed white agents in chaps and full riding gear as they drove Haitians away from U.S. territory. Abasing himself, the secretary told the committee that he had ordered an investigation of the incident by the DHSs Office of Professional Responsibilitys leaders, and added that he had also informed the DHS Office of Inspector General. WESLACO - Federal authorities are investigating the death of a Border Patrol agent in West Texas. Parents were reportedly pepper-sprayed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed as they tried to get inside the school. Authorities now acknowledge a significant amount of time elapsed between when Ramos entered the school wielding an AR-15-style rifle and when he was killed by Border Patrol agents. An off-duty Customs and Border Protection agent from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit is the hero who shot and killed Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos in Robb Elementary School. It is December 12, 2020 and this just aired on Mystery. Was the Border sued? Copyright 1996-2023, The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc, Registration for the 2023 National Police Week 5K goes up $5 on March 2nd save on our introductory pricing and, register today to run or walk in your hometown, United States Department of the Treasury - United States Customs Service, View I am saddened to hear that DPS Special Agent Anthony Salas was killed in a horrific vehicle accident in the line of duty in Eagle Pass. Even when CBP says theyre making an exception, as is the case in Uvalde today, undocumented people have very little reason to take that assurance at face value, Isaacson said. CBP responded immediately to the incident with local law enforcement, Magnus said. The agent was tracking a group of people who had crossed the border illegally. Mayorkas requested additional time in his opening statement for this (rather ironic, given the hearings subject) auto-da-f. You would expect wrong. LockA locked padlock Agent Hunter Labombard of the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector lost his life on Wednesday night in a tragic accident. Center for Immigration Studies Twitter Account, Center for Immigration Studies Facebook Page, Center for Immigration Studies Linkedin Account, Center for Immigration Studies Youtube Channel, telling the House Homeland Security Committee, Texas state troopers positioned their vehicles on the riverbank, mounted Border Patrol agents were brought in, Worldwide Threats to the Homeland: 20 Years After 9/11, explained what was going on in the pictures in a September 29 post, CNN reported in mid-November that the DHS Inspector General had declined to investigate the incident, Bret Baier of Fox News provided an update, reporting, October 26, ABC News reported that the agents involved had not yet been questioned about the incident, Ray Donovan was President Reagans Labor secretary, Erich Segal in his 1970 bestseller Love Story, Todd Bensman on Fentanyl Crisis and Parole at Southern Border, Mark Krikorian Discusses Pres. The mounted Border Patrol agents will likely not fare as well. As late as October 26, ABC News reported that the agents involved had not yet been questioned about the incident. The incident remains under investigation by TXDPS. Of the 15 agents who died in 2021, 13 died in the line of duty as a result of COVID-19. WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback engaged in "unnecessary use of force" against non-threatening Haitian immigrants but didn't whip any with their reins . Agent Hunter Labombard of the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector lost his life on Wednesday night in a tragic accident. Escalon said there was a lot of gunfire in the beginning and that officers were subsequently kept at bay by additional shots. As for whether Border Patrol is a welcome presence in Uvalde, Anfinsen, 41 and a town resident himself, said there is widespread support for the agency. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Multiple outlets report that the alleged assailant in the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) agent, who was also wounded. Elderly New Yorkers to get robots that make small talk, cr Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting, Mike McCarthy shreds ex-Cowboys coordinator after firing, Aaron Carters mom shares grisly new photos of late sons death scene, Jay Leno reveals his unbelievable new face three months after car fire, Bruce Willis wife Emma Heming posts throwback clip after husbands dementia diagnosis, Good luck 'worming' your way out of this one, Sunny Hostin Points Finger at China for COVID Crisis: Did Not Cooperate With the International Community, Kanye West and 'wife' Bianca Censori look surprisingly happy on dinner date. USA TODAY. Border Patrol agents are undoubtedly part of the fabric of the community in Uvalde, located about 70 miles east of the Del Rio port of entry on the Mexican border. The agency did not release the identity of the agent and declined further comment. Here inside the city, well get phone calls saying, Hey, we saw two or three run through a yard. Our guys are constantly responding to calls for possible undocumented persons., From our front door of the station, you can see Mexico. While Border Patrol is a federal agency that does not answer to Abbott or state officials, Valdes said there have been people with little or no criminal history picked up by Border Patrol in the Uvalde area in the past year or so and turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE for deportation, or removal from the country under a policy known as Title 42. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol says an agent has died after being involved in an all-terrain vehicle accident while patrolling along the border in south Texas. On behalf of our sector family, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues as we mourn his passing, Skero tweeted. The result was mixed, Majority of voters, plurality of Democrats say Biden is too old to run again, *Gulp* Finland is building a wall on Russia's border, Maher on CNN: If its Biden against Trump, Biden will win thats a good bet", Here's the Other Rural Town Being Screwed Over by Joe Biden, Biden owns border critics with chuckling reminder this mom's sons died of fentanyl overdoses in 2020, Christopher Wray's Failing PR Campaign to Save the FBI's Reputation, Old Joe Biden Has Never Told a WEIRDER Story Than This One, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information, DPS Special Agent killed during arrest of illegal migrants on the border. On May . While Uvalde is an hours drive away from the border, it falls within a 100-mile zone that gives federal agents broad latitude to operate, including by setting up immigration checkpoints. Migrants are apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Del Rio, Tex., in January. The agent died at a hospital. . Some turned themselves in to Border Patrol while some ran to escape apprehension. Dozens of agents from the community and from surrounding communities all showed up, some were helping get children out of classrooms while gunfire was happening, Anfinsen said. Official websites use .gov Skero said Morales is survived by his wife and four children. Vice President Kamala Harris offered her own take on the pictures of agents using horses at the border, sharing that she was deeply troubled and opining that human beings should never be treated that way.. The other man in the car was taken into custody. Thu, 02 Mar 2023 13:20:24 GMT (1677763224197), Courtesy: Hunter Lambombard GoFundMe page. This incident is under investigation by the FBI and under review by the CBP's . Anfinsen defended the agents at the time, saying they were thrown under the bus by the Biden administration, which took the agents off duty and ordered an investigation, which remains ongoing. Keep in mind that the hearing had nothing to do with Del Rio or horses the topic was Worldwide Threats to the Homeland: 20 Years After 9/11. At the time I asserted, Del Rio is now shorthand for a border in chaos, but chaos really does not do justice to the scene that subsequently unfolded there. Over 70 percent of Uvaldes residents identified as Hispanic or Latino, according to 2022 census data, and while many families are multi-generational U.S. citizens, there are mixed-status households that include people at risk of arrest and deportation. United States Border Patrol agents on horseback try to stop Haitian migrants from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio . 1 min read. We have agents' families who are teachers and students in the community. And while their actions were undoubtedly heroic, one witness, a 10-year-old boy, has come forward to say the cops inadvertently helped the gunman identify another victim to shoot. He died at the scene. The state and Texas law enforcement are doing what the federal government refuses to do work to secure the southern border and protect Texans and their property. Theyve become so common that were actually getting a little complacent with it, Garza said. As a winter storm moves into the area, Eagle Pass agents arrest another group of 400. Photo/Video will be published upon admin review and approval. A Border Patrol agent was wounded by gunfire during the shootout and is among the 17 injured survivors. 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