A US Border Patrol agent was “pushed, dragged and punched” by two migrants he caught crossing the southern border into Texas last week, officials said.
The federal agent was responding to a report of immigrants illegally crossing into the country on Oct. 31 when he caught the two Venezuelan nationals near Ascarate Park in El Paso at around 6:45 a.m., according to the FBI’s El Paso field office.
He attempted to cuff the two men after they refused to comply to his commands, but they resisted arrest and fought back, the FBI said.
The pair, identified as 35-year-old Kevin Escalona Gonzalez and 27-year-old Yuleixy Mata Fuentes, physically assaulted the agent to avoid arrest, according to the agency.
The officer was eventually able to regain control of the men and arrested them without further incident.
“The men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol work tirelessly to keep our borders safe,” said FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey R. Downey. “Assaults on Border Patrol agents or any other federal agents/officers or task force officers will not be tolerated and will be addressed swiftly by our office so they can continue to carry out their sworn duty to protect our communities.”
The FBI arrested Gonzalez and Fuentes for assaulting a federal officer. They are currently being held at the El Paso County Correctional Facility.
The men were part of a group of immigrants entering the US illegally who ran away from the Border Patrol agent and dispersed in different directions. It’s unclear if any of those individuals were caught and taken into custody.