A Border Patrol agent on the northern U.S. border was assaulted on August 20 by three illegal immigrants from Mexico, a criminal complaint alleges.
The alleged assault occurred near Churubusco, New York, in the Swanton Sector, an area that’s experienced surges in illegal crossings, after a Border Patrol Agent stopped a vehicle.
The driver and front passenger told the agent they were American citizens before explaining that three passengers in the back of the vehicle did not speak English and were described as wearing muddy clothing, the criminal complaint states.
“That’s my boyfriend and his family,” the driver allegedly said. “I came to pick them up from Vermont.”
The complaint says the three backseat passengers told the Border Patrol agent that they were in the country unlawfully.
The agent placed two of the three illegal immigrants in the back of his vehicle. When he was on his way to apprehend the third, the other two allegedly leaped out of the Border Patrol vehicle and the three proceeded to attack the agent, knocking him to the ground, hitting him in the head and body, and fleeing the scene.
Two of the three individuals were found immediately after the incident, while the third was later captured about five miles from the scene.
Federal data reveals that there were 521 recorded assault incidents against Customs and Border Protection officials in fiscal year 2022, as well as 386 in the first ten months of fiscal year 2023.
The alleged assault comes as illegal immigrant encounters near America’s northern border continue to increase, with data revealing a 36% rise from June to July. Though there were only 916 recorded encounters at the northern border in fiscal year 2021, the numbers jumped to 2,238 in fiscal year 2022. The figure surged again from October 2022 to July 2023, with 7,633 recorded illegal immigrant encounters.
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New Hampshire Republican Governor Chris Sununu has responded to the spike of encounters at the northern border, calling for the creation of a congressional delegation tasked with securing the Swanton Sector.
Illegal border crossings have surged under the Biden administration, with an estimated 1.5 million illegal immigrant gotaways recorded since Biden took office in 2021. There were 415,000 total reported gotaways in 2018, 2019, and 2020 during the Trump administration.
The record-high increases in illegal immigration have strained major cities like Chicago and New York, which have struggled to house foreign nationals. Chicago passed a measure to provide $51 million in funding to house and feed migrants, while 50 places of worship in New York City are now being used to accommodate foreign nationals.
New York residents recently protested a potential plan to convert a former nursing home into a housing center for migrants.
Multiple public opinion surveys indicate that voters disapprove of Biden’s handling of the border. A Fox News poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 registered voters in late June, found that 62% of respondents disapproved of Biden’s handling of the border, while only 35% approve.