EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The U.S. Border Patrol on Friday honored the 159 agents who have died in the line of duty since 1919 with a memorial ceremony in El Paso.
An honor guard folded an American flag as bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” and family members of the deceased agents watched from a tent in the back of the El Paso Border Patrol Museum. Agents fired rifles in a 21-gun salute at the end, and an agent sent out a call on field radio for “Foxtrot Alpha 159” in a salute to the fallen.
El Paso Interim Border Patrol Chief Agent Walter N. Slosar said five of those agents died in 2024 and one earlier this year. That was Agent David Maland, who was shot dead on Jan. 20 after conducting an immigration stop on armed suspects on Interstate 91 in Vermont. One of the suspects was killed, too, according to the FBI.
Slosar gave a posthumous thanks to the agents and told their families the agency will always stand in support. He went on to say the U.S.-Mexico border – or in Maland’s case, the U.S.-Canada border – remains a dangerous place even though encounters with migrants and smugglers have dropped substantially in recent months.
The Border Patrol recorded 8,383 apprehensions in the southwestern border in April 2025 — a 93 percent drop from the 128,895 taken into custody in April 2024. That’s an average of 279 migrant apprehensions per day last month, compared to 4,297 just a year earlier, U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows.
“Every day a Border patrol agent or a member of our professional staff go on to perform their duties is a dangerous day,” Slosar said. “There are the pitfalls of the environment; it often causes us problems. There are dangers from the adversary, who wish to do us harm. That is present as soon as you put on your uniform …”
Agents have died in rollovers in remote areas, others during falls and after being assaulted by smugglers.
The Border Patrol in recent years has increased its reliance on technology to anticipate threats and pass on more detailed information agents on the field.
Artificial intelligence cameras recently were added in the Big Bend and El Paso sectors. Ground-tethered aerostatic balloons watch desert areas with an array of cameras, and sensors near the border wall alert agents when someone comes over from the Mexican side.
Slosar said border agents strive to become part of the communities they are sworn to protect. “I was born here. Our families were born in the borderland,” the interim chief said. “We are part of the fabric of the community, not only those that were born here but also those coming from out of town. El Paso, the surrounding area, grows on our Border Patrol agents coming in from other areas.”
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