Agency: Migrant fatally shot being detained after escape bid

Customs and Border Protection officials say a Mexican migrant who died of gunshot wounds after a weekend encounter with a Border Patrol agent was shot while being detained following an escape attempt

Border Agency New Leader (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Customs and Border Protection officials say a migrant who died of gunshot wounds after a weekend encounter with a Border Patrol agent was shot while being detained following an escape attempt.

A CBP statement released Wednesday said the shooting occurred after two agents from a horse patrol unit responded around 9 p.m. Saturday to reports of migrants detected in a remote, mountainous area about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Douglas, Arizona. It was the agency's most detailed account of what happened.

The fatal shooting comes a month after new CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus was sworn in after a term as police chief in Tucson, where he overhauled the department's use-of-force policy and pushed for more accountability. Use-of-force issues are among many challenges Magnus faces in his new role.

The CBP said the shooting in the area known as Skeleton Canyon came after the agents apprehended three migrants in the U.S. illegally and spotted a fourth trying to get away.

One agent followed that person downhill into the canyon, “and while taking him into custody discharged his firearm fatally wounding the migrant." That agent has not been identified.

The agents at the scene called for backup, and another two migrants from the same group were found and detained.

Ricardo Pineda, Mexico's consulate in Douglas, confirmed Wednesday it has contacted the family of the deceased, a Mexican citizen, and will help as needed. He said authorities have been asked to conduct an investigation that strictly follows the law.

“This is very worrisome for us,” said Pineda. “We are expecting a very thorough investigation on this.”

The Pima County Medical Examiner said an autopsy determined the migrant died from multiple gunshot wounds. It said it would have no more information until the final examination report is released.

The CBP said the shooting is under investigation by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department and the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office and under review by the CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

At the conclusion of a thorough review, this incident will be reviewed by CBP’s National Use of Force Review Board.

Agents have been involved in an increasing number of use-of-force incidents in recent years. During Donald Trump’s final 28 months in office, CBP recorded a monthly average of 50 use-of-force incidents. Under President Joe Biden, incidents increased by 20% to a monthly average of 70.

There also have been more fatalities involving Border Patrol agents, though the number of encounters with migrants has surged at an even higher rate.

Nearly 60 Border Patrol encounters resulted in deaths in 2021, three times as many as in 2019 and four times as many as the decade’s yearly average.