Smuggler Gun Violence Against California Border Patrol Escalates at US-Mexico Border

A U.S. Border Patrol agent monitors from a vehicle a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall near Otay Mesa between San Diego and Tijuana in San Diego County, Calif., on Jan. 12, 2022. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

OTAY MESA, Calif.—U.S. Border Patrol agents were fired upon recently while trying to apprehend a group of suspected migrants illegally entering the United States, officials said on Aug. 25.

“Smuggling organizations are becoming desperate and escalating their level of violence because of the work being performed by U.S. Border Patrol agents,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGurk-Daniel said. “Our agents are preventing smugglers from conducting their illicit business and this is their very dangerous response. This callous display clearly shows that smugglers do not care about the safety of migrants or law enforcement.”