The incident remains under investigation by TXDPS. Texans know that our law enforcement officers deal with ever-present danger, every single day, to keep Texas communities safe. The facts will drive the action we take. Salas was thirty-seven years old, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and was a Trooper with the Texas Highway Patrol before his promotion to CID Special Agent. The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack on two Border Patrol agents. An official website of the United States government. Prayers for the Salas family. Jupiter and Venus appear to 'kiss' in the sky, Mom of 2, stabbed 8 times, is making most of second chance at life, Whose leak is it anyway? Operation Lone Star began because of the Biden administrations refusal to secure the southern border. When the cops came, the cop said: 'Yell if you need help!' It is clear to law enforcement officials that this is a coordinated effort. In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated. Line-of-duty deaths in the Border Patrol increased by 275% compared to 2020. Official websites use .gov DHS also released a statement last week detailing its strategy to address the border upheaval, including placing 400 more agents and officers in the Del Rio sector, moving migrants from the region . Photographs taken at the scene showed uniformed white agents in chaps and full riding gear as they drove Haitians away from U.S. territory. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. In a stunning turn of events, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has vowed to gain control of the Southwest border, telling the House Homeland Security Committee: I want to assure you that we are addressing this with tremendous speed and tremendous force. Border Patrol is well liked in Uvalde, Anfinsen said. In June, four migrants died and three other people were injured after a Jeep being pursued by Border Patrol agents crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer on the interstate near the Texas border city of Encinal. The man who shot Inspector Latham was sentenced to life in prison and the other two were sentenced to 23 years in prison. The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization founded in 1985. Latham, wearing his uniform, was handcuffed and had been murdered with his own service weapon. The officer was injured during the shooting but he managed to eliminate the threat and kill the shooter before he could commit more carnage, law enforcement sources told NBC. The result was mixed, Majority of voters, plurality of Democrats say Biden is too old to run again, *Gulp* Finland is building a wall on Russia's border, Maher on CNN: If its Biden against Trump, Biden will win thats a good bet", Here's the Other Rural Town Being Screwed Over by Joe Biden, Biden owns border critics with chuckling reminder this mom's sons died of fentanyl overdoses in 2020, Christopher Wray's Failing PR Campaign to Save the FBI's Reputation, Old Joe Biden Has Never Told a WEIRDER Story Than This One, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information, DPS Special Agent killed during arrest of illegal migrants on the border. Photo by -/social media/AFP via Getty Images. Salas was part of a Special Operations Group working jointly with the US Border Patrol BORTAC near Eagle Pass on Friday. A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio . Del Rio Horse Incident. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said late Saturday that the agent was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after two men inside a car opened fire on the agents Friday night. Abasing himself, the secretary told the committee that he had ordered an investigation of the incident by the DHSs Office of Professional Responsibilitys leaders, and added that he had also informed the DHS Office of Inspector General. . Texas Border Patrol agent, 37, is killed after truck flipped over into ditch and crushed him during 'tactical operation' DPS Special agent Anthony Salas, 37, died after a 'tragic accident' near . "As a winter storm moves into the area, Eagle Pass agents arrest another group of 400. He did not offer additional explanation for why officers didnt try to enter more quickly. The Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association posted the sad news on its Facebook page. LockA locked padlock Fellow agents found the man unresponsive, began life-saving efforts and called for an ambulance, the statement said. Lt. Valdes said local Border Patrol agents in Uvalde have been complicit in Operation Lone Star, a campaign launched in March of 2021 by Texas Gov. The desire to speak with the seven U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agents comes weeks after the committee spoke to the agents leading the Tucson and Rio Grande Valley sectors, who they say . We continue to coordinate closely with our federal, state and local partners in the aftermath of this senseless tragedy.. Please keep the Salas family in your thoughts and prayers. You would expect wrong. The purported act of selflessness and courage was a balm for an otherwise unthinkable tragedyat least one cop did his job and saved lives. This tragedy is a somber reminder of the selfless sacrifices our law enforcement make as they work to keep us safe. As for whether Border Patrol is a welcome presence in Uvalde, Anfinsen, 41 and a town resident himself, said there is widespread support for the agency. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. These are large-scale events orchestrated by criminal elements for $$, the Border Patrols Del Rio Sector Chief Jason Owens wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday morning. Many agents who work in the Del Rio sector call Uvalde home, he said, and are involved as coaches and community leaders. one witness told the New York Times. In any event, the New Yorker piece ran more than two months after CNN reported in mid-November that the DHS Inspector General had declined to investigate the incident. Dozens of agents from the community and from surrounding communities all showed up, some were helping get children out of classrooms while gunfire was happening, Anfinsen said. A Border Patrol agent was wounded by gunfire during the shootout and is among the 17 injured survivors. All Rights Reserved. An off-duty Customs and Border Protection agent from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit is the hero who shot and killed Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos in Robb Elementary School. DEL RIO, Texas - On February 2, 2019, Border Patrol Agent Donna Doss died in the line of duty in Tye, Texas.At 8:50 p.m. Saturday, Agent Doss, a 49-year-old Resident Agent, with the United States Border Patrol, in Abilene, TX responded to a call for assistance from Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) trooper on the Interstate 20 frontage road. As late as January, the New Yorker was excoriating the agents, in an article that began: The violent removal of Haitian asylum seekers from their encampments in Del Rio, Texas, in September, opened a critical window for reckoning with the centrality of racism and anti-Black racism in particular to the conduct and character of U.S. border policing. Donovan denied the charges, blaming untruthful informants and the Bronx district attorney (a Democrat) for the indictment ever being handed down. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, while the incident took on a life of its own. At least 19 kids and two adults were killed in the shooting, one of the worst school massacres in US history. Never mind that Ratje himself stated on September 23 that he never seen [the agents] whip anyone. Copyright 2023 by The Associated Press. The Ray Donovan Standard. Their nationalities and ages have not been released. According to multiple reports, the agent ofCBP's Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) ran into the school while the shooter kept inflicting pain.. She read a message from a colleague that works with clients in the area. Parents were reportedly pepper-sprayed, thrown to the ground, and handcuffed as they tried to get inside the school. When Franky Palacios Paz was found naked and decapitated floating off South Padre Island, the local sheriff thought the murder . ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Everyone converged on the scene as quickly as they could possibly get there.. From October through March, agents in the Border Patrol's Del Rio sector had 68,570 "encounters" with migrants more than four times as many as in the same period a year earlier. We have a lot of agents there. Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew Hudak expressed his condolences to family, classmates, friends, and co-workers of Agent Doss. "With a heavy heart, we regret to announce the line-of-duty death of Border Patrol Agent . A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the parent agency of Border Patrol, responded to questions from VICE News about the timeline of events and the actions of agents who killed the gunman by referring to a statement by CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus. 0:00. Agent Doss served in the Border Patrol for more than 15 years and is survived by her husband, father, mother, two step-children, sister and two brothers. Six months after the fact, and despite promises of an expedited investigation, they have now apparently been cleared. Parents send migrant children alone across the border to South Texas A 19-year-old U.S. citizen from Its wrong, it sends the wrong message around the world, it sends the wrong message at home. Emergency Medical Services responded, but Agent Doss succumbed to her injuries at the scene. That included between 80 to 100 on-duty and off-duty agents along with some who were in training. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Uvalde school police chief admits he deliberately left kids in classroom during rampage, Mom of Uvalde school shooter jailed for making death threats: reports, Safety inspector posing as intruder walks into Uvalde school unchallenged, Uvalde massacre victims launch $27B class action suit against police, school, one of the worst school massacres in US history. Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive storiesand breaking newsabout issues along the United States-Mexico border. At 8:50 p.m. Saturday, Agent Doss, a 49-year-old Resident Agent, with the United States Border Patrol, in Abilene, TX responded to a call for assistance from Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) trooper on the Interstate 20 frontage road. Order was only really restored after Texas state troopers positioned their vehicles on the riverbank, but before that occurred, mounted Border Patrol agents were brought in to restore some control; it was only at that point that the administration came unhinged. In other words, they would be riding office chairs, not horses. Still pictures showed the agents swinging their reins as they guided their mounts and reached out to seize entering migrants, prompting Democratic members of Congress to deride their actions as [c]ruel, inhumane, and a violation of domestic and international law and a stain on our country. Its terrible.. The federal law enforcement official and a border patrol agent who helped in the search for the missing girl told the AP previously that the woman was spotted on a border camera shortly after 5 p . There will be consequences. "We are rescuing people in the river all . Mayorkas requested additional time in his opening statement for this (rather ironic, given the hearings subject) auto-da-f. Specific details of what happened have not been released. This accident happened in Eagle Pass which has seen a surge of illegal migrants this week. As the Haitians tried to . U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue to provide updates as appropriate. She had responded to the location to assist a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper determine the status of a subject believed to be in the country illegally. We ourselves will pull no punches.". Border Patrol lacked the manpower to process all the migrants in any timely manner, the buses to transport them elsewhere, or the supplies to provide for them while they waited. On Wednesday morning, Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Austin Skero confirmed Morales' death while off duty. How Investigators Linked a Headless Body to a Border Patrol Agent. Mayorkas did make those statements before the committee, back in September. It's an embarrassment, but beyond an embarrassment, it is dangerous. On Friday, January 27th, 1984, four men committed a jewelry robbery in Cuidad Acuna, Mexico, and crossed into the United States at the Del Rio Port of Entry. We have dozens and dozens of agents who live there. CBP Releases Statement on Use of Force Incident and Death in Douglas, Arizona. 0:54. And the cops started shooting.. It was against this backdrop that Mayorkas made his statements before the Homeland Security Committee on September 22. If they have not quit already (as many agents have given the current lack of support they are receiving from the administration), they may go back to the horses, or maybe they will decide that processing thousands of aliens a day is a more halcyon way to spend a career. During a trip to Europe, I personally had to defend the honor of the agents and the country on Swiss television and before members of the European Parliament (none of whom seemed to have any familiarity with horses). EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) A U.S. Border Patrol agent and El Paso native died in a crash Monday night near Del Rio, Texas. Border Patrol Union of Del Rio posted the information on their Twitter page. Dont expect any apologies from Biden, Harris, Mayorkas, or any of their other detractors. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Back in the middle of September, CBP was caught unprepared when some 15,000 to 30,000 migrants (the actual figure has been lost in the confusion) mostly Haitian nationals crossed the Rio Grande near the town of Del Rio, Texas, and camped out under the international bridge there, waiting to be processed and released into the United States. On Wednesday morning, Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Austin Skero confirmed Morales death while off duty. She said both on- and off-duty CBP agents went to the scene to help students get to safety and provide medical support. The agent was tracking a group of people who had crossed the border illegally. McALLEN, Texas (border report). According to a GoFundMe page set up to help the family, his wife Zoe is expecting their first child in less than eight weeks. In the aftermath of the worst school shooting in Texas history, multiple law enforcement agencies now face hard questions about why they failed to stop the gunman from entering the school and why it took so long to confront him after he was inside and killing children. On Friday, January 27th, 1984, four men committed a jewelry robbery in Cuidad Acuna, Mexico, and crossed into the United States at the Del Rio Port of Entry. On the evening of Friday, 01/21/2022, Special Agent Salas was supporting Operation Lone Star as a Special Operations Group (SOG) Operator in partnership with the U.S. Border Patrol in Maverick County near Eagle Pass. MISSION, Texas -- A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent died Wednesday after an all-terrain vehicle accident while patrolling along the border in south Texas, according to the agency. This incident is under investigation by the FBI and under review by the CBP's . Inspector Latham inspected the van and located the stolen jewelry, prompting the men to pull out weapons and kidnap him. Federal and State law enforcement officers at the scene immediately began CPR before transporting Special Agent Salas to the hospital in Eagle Pass, where he was airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio. Create a free ODMP account now for these benefits: Create an account for more options, or use this form to leave a Reflection now. According to the Del Rio News-Herald, the crash happened about 9 p.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 277, about 20 miles south of Del Rio. Bishop Evans jumped into the Rio Grande on Friday to save two people he thought were struggling to swim across Shipping containers line the area near the Rio Grande river in 2021 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz told CNN tonight that some local law enforcement "engaged" the shooter outside of the school before CBP received the call at about 11:30 a.m. and agents responded from various locations in the area. Special Agent Salas served in the United States Marine Corps before joining DPS. A lone border patrol agent ended Tuesday's school massacre when he killed Texas shooter after rushing into school without waiting for backup, risking his own life and receiving a wound. Agent Hunter Labombard of the Del Rio Border Patrol Sector lost his life on Wednesday night in a tragic accident. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. (Photo by ALLISON DINNER/AFP via Getty Images), killing 19 young children and two teachers, The Police Timeline of the Texas School Shooting Has a Lot of Holes, Uvalde Police Refused to Enter School Despite Desperate Pleas From Parents, Uvalde had been declared a protected area. Multiple outlets report that the alleged assailant in the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, was shot and killed by a Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) agent, who was also wounded. At the time I asserted, Del Rio is now shorthand for a border in chaos, but chaos really does not do justice to the scene that subsequently unfolded there. Salas was working as part of Operation Lone Star, a Texas state effort to shore up the Southwest border in the state. Inspector Richard Latham was shot and killed after being abducted from the Del Rio Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas. Records obtained by The Associated Press show that at least 15 agents have . Read More Border Patrol Union of Del Rio posted the information on their Twitter page. 400 people don't just coincidentally decide to cross together. Uvalde is a town of roughly 16,000 people, situated between San Antonio and Del Rio . All Rights Reserved. The video above is ABC13's 24/7 Livestream. The guy overheard and he came in and shot her. Richard Mack Latham. But the subject the secretary was addressing was not controlling the Southwest border, nor the safety of the American people or stemming the flow of drugs into the United States it had to do with investigating the actions of mounted Border Patrol agents in Del Rio . Two other BORTAC members were involved in storming the classroom where the gunman was barricaded, along with a member of BORSTAR, a specialized search and rescue unit. The agent died at a hospital. Skero said Morales is survived by his wife and four children. The mission of BorderReport.com is to provide real-time delivery of the untold local stories about people living, working and migrating along the U.S. border with Mexico. Unfortunate, unthinkable and such a tragedy. After he was acquitted, Donovan famously asked: Which office do I go to to get my reputation back? Had it not been for that statement, I never would have remembered Donovan or the charges. 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