Speeches and Statements

On December 30, 2022, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Paso Sector Intelligence Unit Evidence Collection Team encountered a male subject approximately four miles northeast of the Bridge of Americas, near El Paso, Texas. The male, a United States citizen, was walking in the middle of Airway Boulevard unclothed from the waist down and posing a traffic hazard to traveling vehicles. Intelligence Unit agents approached the man in their unmarked vehicle, with their emergency lights activated, but the man refused to leave the roadway.

On January 2, 2023, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Eagle Pass Border Patrol station apprehended a woman, a Cuban national, approximately two miles south of the Eagle Pass, Texas International Bridge II. Agents transported the woman to the Firefly Soft Sided Processing Facility located in Eagle Pass. The woman was booked into the processing facility at approximately 10:33 a.m. The woman was medically screened at approximately 11:44 a.m., and she informed the Border Patrol processing coordinator that she had high blood pressure and was taking prescribed medication.

On October 2, 2022, at approximately 3:58 p.m., a Border Patrol agent assigned to the Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue team encountered three individuals on the shoulder of Interstate 8 in Imperial County, Calif., near the Imperial Sand Dunes, approximately two and one quarter miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. Upon the initial encounter, one of the individuals fled in a grey Mercedes and was subsequently apprehended by another Border Patrol agent.

On November 6, 2022, at approximately 11:20 a.m., a Border Patrol remote camera operator spotted a group of five individuals climbing up the International Border Barrier, approximately 4.2 miles southeast of the Veterans International Bridge, near Brownsville, Texas. The camera operator broadcasted the information via radio to Border Patrol agents assigned to the Fort Brown Border Patrol Station. Agents responded to an area known as “Shrivers”, located approximately 75 yards north of the border barrier, where they encountered and apprehended two individuals.

*Please note there was an internal delay in the posting of this statement. Notifications to Congress were completed in a timely fashion. In an effort to fulfill our responsibilities and commitment to transparency and accountability, we are completing our public post at this time.

The following statement concerns an agent involved shooting which occurred near Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, on Thursday, November 17, 2022. The information is based on a preliminary review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility and may be updated with additional information.

On November 11, 2022, at approximately 1:45 a.m., an off-duty Border Patrol Agent arrived and parked his personal vehicle in the lot of an apartment complex in San Antonio, Texas. The agent began walking through the parking lot heading to an apartment after parking and exiting his vehicle and spotted two individuals who appeared to be breaking into a Dodge Ram pickup truck. The agent then confronted the two subjects and told them to leave the premises.

The following statement pertains to an agent involved shooting that occurred near San Luis, Arizona, on Sunday, October 30, 2022. The following information is based on a preliminary review by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility and may be updated with additional information.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Chris Magnus issued the following statement following an incident in El Paso on October 31, 2022:

“I am monitoring reports surrounding events in El Paso in which several hundred migrants attempted to enter the United States without authorization along the Rio Grande River International Boundary, near downtown El Paso.

Miami – A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer working at the agency’s weapons range was injured while on duty and pronounced deceased Oct. 19.  CBP is cooperating with the investigation which is being led by the Miami-Dade Police Department. For information, please reach out to Angel Rodriguez from the police department at 305-216-7956 or via email at aar@mdpd.com.