SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Personnel from Mexico’s National Institute of Migration (INM) are asking the agency to provide them with bulletproof vests for fear of being attacked by cartels and smugglers along the border.
INM’s director in Baja California, David Tejada Padilla, confirmed his agency is trying to get the vests for 50 agents who belong to critical response teams and tactical units.
Tejada Padilla said the agents have been targets in the past and often encounter gunfire while on duty.
“Our people are asking for bulletproof vests, they keep requesting them, and truth is, I’m going to make it happen,” said Tejada Padilla. “I’m working with police agencies and others to acquire the vests. I don’t have the budget for it now, but we’re working on it.”
He stated attacks are more frequent than people think.
“At least once a week our agents are targeted. They damage our vehicles, they are threatened verbally,” he said. “Last September, one of our agents was shot at … luckily, he wasn’t hit.”
Tejada Padilla went on to describe a recent incident in the area where they set up a camp last month just south of the border east of Tijuana.
“Agents were rescuing a group of migrants when they heard shots fired in their direction … it was from smugglers who watch our patrols, and they do it to strike fear in our agents, this is a real threat.”
The INM’s director said they have virtually stopped responding to calls for fear of getting shot.
“We are not responding to calls unless U.S. Border Patrol or our National Guard are there for support, we need backup and escorts to minimize risks to our team members.”
For the most part, INM’s agents don’t carry weapons, but that could change, according to Tejada Padilla.
“Getting guns to our agents would require a long bureaucratic process,” he said. “It’s probably far away and if we were to get weapons, it would only be for self-defense from traffickers and organized crime.”
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