Migrant Shot and Killed by Border Patrol Agents Near Texas Border

A migrant was killed by the Mexican-Texas border by an agent of the U.S. border patrol, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

At 1:30 p.m. (ET) this past Wednesday, the agent received a report of “illegal activity” on a channel near Rio Bravo, in the Webb County. When he arrived, he found a group of migrants. The agent “came under attack by multiple subjects” as he attempted to approach the group. After firing “at least one round,” the man shot and killed one of the migrants, and arrested three individuals considered to be “illegal aliens.” Neither the officer or the victim have been identified.

KGNS-TV of Laredo, associate of NBC, has reported that Marta Martinez—a woman who lives nearby—started live-streaming the events on Facebook after hearing the gunshots; she identified the victim to be a young woman. In the video, Martinez can be seen explaining to her family what happened, confronting the agent while he arrests two men.

She told KGNS that “[migrants] come here to the United States to live the American dream. So there’s no American dream right there. She died right there on the scene.”

According to Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and Texas Rangers are still investigating the scene. A news conference scheduled for Friday.

This events come after increasing tensions between immigrants, Border Patrol agents, and the U.S. administration. In a May 17th speech at the White House, President Trump—referring to the MS-13 gang members— said that “You wouldn’t believe how bad these people are. These aren’t people, these are animals”; he added that the U.S. has “the dumbest laws on immigration in the world.” The statement was quite controversial.

Earlier this month, another border patrol agent reportedly detained and interrogated two women in Montana after overhearing them speaking Spanish to each other, even though both were U.S. citizens.  The events were recorded by one of the women as she was being questioned by the agent. Ana Suda and Mimi Hernandez were shopping for groceries at a gas station while chatting in Spanish.

Suda told to NBC that the agent asked where they were born, and for identification. After going to the station’s parking lot, she started recording the incident, where the agent can be heard saying: “Ma’am, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here, and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here.” The agent denied the fact that he had stopped women because of racial profiling, and they were able to go after thirty minutes of questioning.

According to the Customs and Border Protection office, border patrol agents have been involved in 996 cases of encounters involving force in the 2017 fiscal year, with most of those incidents featuring “Less-Lethal Device and Other Less-Lethal Force” (of those 996, only 17 incidents were related to firearm usage). Still, the number is the highest it has been since 2014, and the third highest in the past six years.

Featured Image via: Flickr/Ken Lund