Border Patrol agents patrolling outside Roma, Texas, were fired at from the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday night.
The agents, part of Border Patrol Tactical Operations (BORTAC) were patrolling the Rio Grande Valley when they returned fire, according to sources to Fox News. The incident reportedly involved a shootout between the Mexican military and cartel members on the Mexican side of the border. When a man tried to flee across a nearby river, a BORTAC agent jumped in to rescue him, and he was fired upon.
“On February 2, 2022, at approximately 6:00 p.m. CST, Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents responded to a report of suspected migrants near Fronton, Texas. Responding agents reported shots fired from Mexico. Texas Department of Public Safety, Starr County Sheriff’s Office, and additional agents responded to the location,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wrote in a statement.
The incident is under review by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, according to the statement. (RELATED: Josh Hawley Grills Biden Judicial Nominee Kenly Kato On Illegal Immigration: ‘Are Those Crimes Or Not?’)
TX: Border Patrol agents were fired at from the Mexico side just outside of Roma, TX in the Rio Grande Velley Sector last night — Statement below per @CBP— The @FBI is now involved.
**Will update if/when I get more.** pic.twitter.com/vTrjD5FwTf
— Ali Bradley (@AliBradleyTV) February 3, 2022
Fox News National Correspondent Bill Melugin, who reported the incident, said no one was hit. This was the same location where a border patrol vehicle was shot at last month and cartel tracer fire from a machine gun fired into the U.S., Melugin added.
Two DHS officials recently told Reuters that they are preparing for as many as 9,000 border arrests per day by the spring. Over 1.7 million immigrants were apprehended at the border in the fiscal year 2021.