Incidents of assault against border patrol officers in the first two months of FY2017 are up 231 percent over the same time frame last year, according to data just released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Averaged out, this means nearly three agents are currently being assaulted per day while monitoring our borders.
CBP officials stated that between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, a total of 159 assaults were reported against border personnel, including those who monitor U.S. ports of entry and those who patrol the vast miles of open border in between. Comparatively, only 51 assaults were reported against border agents during that same time frame in FY2016.
The rise in assaults against border agents comes during a massive wave of illegal immigration at the Southwest U.S. border. MRCTV reported Monday that more than 47,000 illegal aliens were apprehended illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico during November alone, while another 46,000 were caught in the month of October.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of assaults recorded so far in FY2017 occurred against officers who patrol the U.S. border between ports of entry, where the vast majority of illegal aliens are caught. While the total number of assaults against CBP personnel increased by 212 percent over last year, attacks against border agents tasked with patrolling the physical border skyrocketed 231 percent during that same time frame.
Border patrol officials have been warning of increasing assaults on their agents for several months, even as the number of incidents continues to increase. Last fiscal year, CBP reported a total of 585 assaults on border patrol, up 23 percent over FY2015 when 477 incidents of assault were reported. Agents have recently recounted being pelted with rocks thrown across the border, assaulted by illegal aliens during apprehensions, and even in some cases beaten with their own weapons or equipment.
On Monday, an agent was forced to shoot an illegal alien in the leg after the man reportedly gained control of the officer’s baton in an attempted assault.
According to CBP data, last fiscal year saw the highest number of attacks on border agents in the past five years, at least. If this trend continues, the number of assaults in FY2017 could easily dwarf last year’s numbers.
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