With all the focus on taxes, Russia, and the deluge of sexual abuse scandals, little attention has been given to the pillar of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign lately. Trump initially made significant pushes on the issue of immigration, but little movement has been made in the last few months.
However, the president has reiterated his intention to build a wall along our southern border after another Border Patrol agent was killed in the line of duty.
As reported at the Daily Mail, Trump tweeted out the news that an agent was killed on Sunday and let everyone know that he hasn’t forgotten about the promised wall.
“Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt. We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!” Trump said in a tweet.
Authorities said Agent Rogelio Martinez and his Big Bend Sector partner were responding to activity while on patrol near Interstate 10, in the Van Horn Station area when they were both injured. After arriving, Martinez’s partner suddenly reported that both were badly injured and in major need of assistance.
Other agents immediately came to the scene and rushed both men to the nearest hospital. As it stands, there’s no official word about who, how, or what exactly happened, but authorities are combing the area for any potential suspects and witnesses. The FBI has also come in and taken over the investigation.
The deceased Martinez had been a border agent since August 2013 and was from the border town El Paso.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Agent Martinez and his family, and with the agent who was injured,'” officials from the US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
The Big Bend area that Martinez and his partner were patrolling accounts for around one percent of the 61,000 total apprehensions from October 2016 to May 2017. While Border Patrol agents are rarely killed in the line of duty, 38 agents who have died since late 2003 while working. Of course, not all were from murder or attacks, as many stem from things like traffic accidents.
Regardless, it’s a sad day when anyone dies in the line of duty. Hopefully, we will eventually end this open border madness by either providing the necessary resources and policies for proper enforcement or by getting the wall built–or better yet, both.
Source: Daily Mail