EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The job of a U.S. Border Patrol agent is no easy task, says Anthony “Scott” Good, chief agent of the El Paso Sector.
A testament to that is the 17 border agents who have come under attack in just over three months in a sector that runs from rural Hudspeth County to the New Mexico-Arizona state line. These agents have been pelted with rocks, physically assaulted and even shot at.
The latest was an agent set on by an undocumented Salvadoran migrant he was trying to apprehend, Good tweeted on Tuesday. “Every day, agents are faced with many unknown dangers,” he said.
The agency declined to share details of the incident, which remains under investigation pending prosecution of the Salvadoran. But in an email to Border Report, Good said he condemns such violent behavior and that they will not deter his agents from being “fully committed” to safeguarding the border.
“We will not tolerate these violent assaults and will continue to seek criminal prosecution against aggressors,” Good said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection records show 17 border agents have been assaulted in the El Paso Sector since Oct. 1 – a total of 77 nationwide. Most were targeted with rocks or other flung objects, followed by physical assaults such as this week’s. One incident involved a firearm.
The numbers show assaults against Border Patrol agents nearly doubled in El Paso in 2023 compared to the previous two years. That coincides with El Paso leading the nation in migrant encounters that fiscal year.
A conviction for assault on a federal officer carries a one year in prison penalty if reduced to a misdemeanor, up to eight years incarceration without plea bargain and a maximum of 20 years if a deadly weapon was involved, according to the U.S. Code.
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