By Steve Neavling

Border Patrol saw a significant decline in apprehensions along the southwest border in January, according to new data from CBP.

More than 128,400 migrants were arrested and detained by Border Patrol, a 42% decrease from December 2022.  

It’s the lowest level of apprehensions since February 2021. 

Overall, Border Patrol encountered 156,274 migrants, which includes encounters at ports of entry. 

The decline comes as Republicans in the U.S. House have held hearings in which they’ve falsely suggested the borders are open under the Biden administration.

By Steve Neavling

The FBI is investigating a migrant who was captured on video assaulting Border Patrol agents on a Southern California beach on Sunday. 

In an Instagram video, several agents were attempting to detain a man in a half-zipped wetsuit after it appeared he tried to attack an agent. 

Two agents wielded a baton as the man continued to move toward one of the agent. 

Another agent arrived on scene and tackled the man to the sandy ground. A scuffle ensued as agents tried to restrain the migrant.

The migrants entered the U.S. illegally by swimming around border fencing on Imperial Beach around 5:30 p.m. Sunday, CBP spokesman Gerrelaine Alcordo told CNN.  

“As agents attempted to take both migrants into custody, the migrants actively resisted and assaulted the agents. During the confrontation, the agents deployed less-lethal devices,” Alcordo added.

The two Mexican nationals, ages 17 and 20, were detained and transported to a nearby station for processing. 

“The FBI is aware of the situation involving two U.S. Border Patrol agents that occurred on Sunday, August 21, near Imperial Beach, California, and is investigating the assault on federal officers,” an FBI spokesperson said.

By Steve Neavling

At least 46 suspected migrants were found dead in and near a tractor-trailer on a remote road in San Antonio on Monday evening, and 16 others, including four children, were taken to a hospital. 

Three people were taken into custody but it wasn’t immediately clear what role they played in the abandoned tractor-trailer, The New York Times reports.

Those who were hospitalized had heat exhaustion and apparent dehydration. 

“The plight of migrants seeking refuge is always a humanitarian crisis,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio told reporters late Monday. “But tonight we are dealing with a horrific human tragedy.”

It was one of the worst tragedies involving migrants in decades. 

A nearby worker discovered the truck after he or she had “heard a cry for help and came out to investigate,” William McManus, chief of the San Antonio Police Department said. 

The truck had “no visible, working A/C unit” on one of the hottest days this year in San Antonio, the fire chief, Charles Hood, said. 

Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said HSI launched an investigation with the help of CBP and San Antonio police. 

“I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives. Far too many lives have been lost as individuals – including families, women, and children – take this dangerous journey.”

Mayorkas pledged to get justice.

“We will work alongside our partners to hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable and continue to take action to disrupt smuggling networks,” Mayorkas tweeted.

I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of life today and am praying for those still fighting for their lives. Far too many lives have been lost as individuals – including families, women, and children – take this dangerous journey.

— Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (@SecMayorkas) June 28, 2022

By Steve Neavling

Border Patrol agents are significantly undercounting the number of immigrant deaths, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.  

Forbes write, “The finding provides more evidence that for many years U.S. immigration policy has been ineffective, counterproductive and deadly. Continuing policies that rely on enforcement alone and ignore the need to offer legal visas for those seeking work will result in thousands of more deaths and continued frustration about policies that fail to deter unlawful migration into the United States.”

The GAO report states, “CBP [Customs and Border Protection] has not collected and recorded, or reported to Congress, complete data on migrant deaths or disclosed limitations with the data it has reported.”

According to the report, Border Patrol isn’t taking advantage of the resources that would enable them to account for all of the deaths. 

At the Tucson Sector, the agency reported 339 deaths between 2015 and 2019. But according to public data from the Arizona OpenGIS Initiative for Deceased Migrants, 699 immigrants died between that period. 

By Steve Neavling

Border Patrol agents rescued 22 migrants trapped in multiple locked rail cars in Texas early Thursday morning.

Agents from the Del Rio Sector were conducting train check operations shortly before 1 a.m. when a service canine alerted them to four sealed car-pack railroad cars in Uvalde. Agents had to use bolt cutters to open the rail cars. 

The migrants were from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. 

In separate cases Tuesday, Border Patrol agents found a total of 34 migrants inside a U-Haul trailer and semi-truck with very little ventilation in the El Paso-La Cruces region. They also seized a shotgun, an AK-47 rifle, a flare gun, ammunition and other weapons in the trunk of a “scout vehicle escorting the load,” CBP said in a news release. 

By Steve Neavling

A migrant who was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent in southern Arizona first assaulted the agent with a rock, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office said. 

The sheriff’s office is investigating the fatal shooting that occurred at about 10 p.m. on Saturday in a rugged area of the Peloncillo Mountains in Douglas, a few miles north of the border. 

In a statement, the sheriff’s office said the agent was acting in self-defense when he shot the migrant multiple times, 12 News-TV reports.

The migrant has been identified as 32-year-old Carmelo Cruz-Marcos of Mexico. 

Moments before the shooting, the agent encountered a group of undocumented migrants, including Cruz-Marcos. The migrants ran, prompting a foot chase. Both Cruz-Marcos and the agent tripped, and a struggle ensued. 

Cruz-Marcos struck the agent in the shoulder and then retrieved a rock, according to the sheriff’s office. As the migrant raised his arm with the rock, the agent told investigators that he had “feared for his life” and pulled the trigger. 

By Steve Neavling

Border Patrol agents discovered a baby wrapped in camouflage under a bush near the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona last week, KOLD reports.

About 38 minutes before the baby was discovered, agents apprehended a group of migrants who were traveling with the baby. At the time, no one mentioned the baby.

The mother later told agents that the baby was being carried by another member of the group. 

Agents concluded that the mother did not intentionally endanger the child. 

The baby and her mother, who were both in reported good health, were reunited and sent to Mexico through the Lukeville, Arizona Port of Entry. 

By Steve Neavling

An Arizona man smuggling migrants was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for speeding through a Border Patrol checkpoint in southern California and striking several agents in February 2021. 

Juan Francisco Sanchez-Campos, a Mexican national, intentionally sideswiped and rammed multiple Border Patrol vehicles when he sped through the checkpoint on State Route 94 near Jamul, prosecutors said.

Four Border Patrol agents were seriously injured. 

In June 2021, he pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of certain aliens, one count of highspeed flight from an immigration checkpoint, and one count of assault on a federal agent. 

“This defendant risked many lives during his reckless attempt to blow through a checkpoint,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a statement. “He cared nothing about other motorists, Border Patrol agents or even the people in his vehicle. All he wanted was his payday – a day that will never come, thanks to the brave Border Patrol agents who made sure this defendant was stopped.” 

Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke added, “Our current success is the result of the strong resolve and determination of the many men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Collaboratively, our efforts resulted in the arrest, conviction, and just sentencing of this callous smuggler.”