U.S. Customs and Border Patrol says assaults against agents by illegal aliens are up 179-percent since the fiscal year began last October.
Two agents at the Rio Grande City Station were recently injured when several illegal aliens attacked them. Other attacks have been reported in the San Diego sector as well.
“Assaults are definitely up and we do see them on a regular basis, and its a disturbing trend,” says Hector Garza, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council.
However, Garza says many more incidents go unreported.
“What a lot of people don't see is those assualts the U.S. Attorney's office decides to not prosecute, and unfortunately those cases are not prosecuted for various reasons.”
Garza says there may be fewer illegal aliens crossing the border, but those who do are becoming more aggressive.
“We don't have enough manpower, so that means we're leaving more and more agents out in the field by themselves without the proper backup,” he says. “And these people who come across will take more risk to assault our guys.”