Act of Love: Border Patrol Agent Attacked Near Mexico

A man from Honduras, likely in the U.S. illegally, was charged on May 29 with assaulting a federal agent after punching a Border Patrol Agent in the face several times. 

According to The Monitor, the Border Patrol agent was patrolling land near Rio Grande City, Texas, late at night when he spotted several individuals that appeared to have crossed the Rio Grande River and entered the U.S. illegally. The agent had no vehicle, and was reportedly traveling via bicycle at the time. 

When the suspected illegal immigrants saw the agent, they tried to run away into some brush. The agent eventually caught up to one of them, 18-year-old Arnold Cruz Rivera, but then fell off of his bike and dropped his flashlight. 

The Monitor reported that Cruz approached the agent, who was attempting to get up from his fall, and started “swinging his fists.” He reportedly punched the agent directly in the face more than once. 

The 18-year-old then tried to flee the scene to avoid being arrested. The Border Patrol agent, however, was able to control Cruz and hold him to the ground after throwing punches, “not knowing where he was striking due to little to no light conditions.”

Eventually several other Border Patrol agents reportedly arrived on the scene to assist with Cruz’s apprehension.

Illegal immigration has exploded on the U.S. Mexican border, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector, during recent months. Border Patrol agents told Breitbart Texas that more than 1,000 illegal immigrants are apprehended each day in the RGV area. 

As illegal crossers have continued to increase in numbers and overwhelm federal resources, attacks on Border Patrol agents have become relatively common.

Brandy Darby, Breitbart Texas’ Managing Director, has closely chronicled such assaults. 

“The men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol are routinely attacked in remote areas along the U.S.-Mexico border, sometimes resulting in agents losing their lives for their service,” Darby wrote in November 2013. “The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC) recently spoke out against the U.S. Border Patrol’s parent agency, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), alleging that both the CBP and the U.S. Attorney’s Office were routinely refusing to prosecute illegal immigrants who had assaulted Border Patrol Agents.”

Follow Kristin Tate on Twitter @KristinBTate.