A border agent with the Uvalde Border Patrol Station in Texas was assaulted over the weekend while trying to apprehend a human smuggler carting nearly a dozen migrants across the U.S. border unlawfully.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports the agent was attacked by a 21-year-old legal permanent resident who was transporting nine illegal aliens from Mexico into the United States in the bed and cab of his truck. After fleeing from CBP agents in the vehicle, the man eventually got out of the truck and tried to run away on foot.
After being caught up with by border patrol, the man then reportedly attacked an agent, leaving him bruised and battered. Thankfully, the agent didn’t sustain any serious injuries.
CBP adds the human smuggler is being charged with assault on a federal officer and has been remanded to the FBI.
This latest attack comes as border agents are struggling under a massive surge of illegal immigration at the border, apprehending record levels of illegal aliens at a rate of up to 4,000 a day. CBP is estimating they apprehended about 100,000 illegal aliens in March alone, double the number caught in March of 2018 and reaching records not seen in more than a decade.
Border Patrol stations and ports of entry are currently holding about 12,000 migrants in temporary custody at any given time, ultimately releasing many into U.S. communities pending a court appearance.