Agent's death a reminder of U.S.-Mexican border violence

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was shot and killed along the Southwestern border last week, marking the second time in

as many years that an agent was gunned down along the border with Mexico.

The shooting prompted politicians from both parties, including Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Department of Homeland

Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, to emphasize the dangers faced by the 20,000 Border Patrol agents and

thousands of other law enforcement officers who patrol the border.

Records from a police memorial group and the federal government paint a clearer picture of how violent the border truly

is. Fourteen Border Patrol agents have died since 2006, and records obtained by USA TODAY show that agents shot

and killed 20 people in that time.
Lt. Jeff Palmer, who founded the Pima County (Ariz.) Sheriff's Office border crime section, said they face armed

smugglers, constant assaults by immigrants throwing rocks and a rugged terrain that makes apprehending people, and

defending yourself, extremely hard.

"It's a violent, violent place out there, and people are utilizing whatever means they can to avoid apprehension," Palmer

said.

Christian Ramirez of American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization that tracks border violence, said the

blame lies on both sides of the border. Ramirez said smuggling cartels trying to push their goods into the U.S. are

clashing with an ever-expanding collection of law enforcement officers on the U.S. side, leaving illegal immigrants

simply looking for work caught in the crossfire.

"Border Patrol responds with more arms, more personnel, and drug cartels respond in kind. It's a cycle of violence that

we need to figure out how to stop," he said.

A total of 260 agents fired their weapons in 213 incidents from 2006 to 2010, wounding 37 people, according to a

database obtained from Customs and Border Protection through the Freedom of Information Act. The records reflect all

Border Patrol encounters around the country, but Customs spokesman Lloyd Easterling said most of those occurred

along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Fourteen Border Patrol agents died in the line of duty during that time period, according to the Officer Down Memorial

Page, which tracks the deaths of law enforcement officers. Two died from gunshot wounds, the rest of various causes

ranging from heat exhaustion to being intentionally struck by a car.

Jennifer Allen, executive director of the Border Action Network, a Tucson-based civil rights group that helps immigrants,

said the numbers show that agents are being reckless when responding to illegal immigrants crossing the border.

She said she understands that drug cartels and human smugglers can be violent, but she said agents are approaching

any illegal immigrant crossing into the U.S. with a "heavy handed" approach that leads to so many deaths and injuries.

Hipolito Acosta, who patrolled the border for several federal agencies before retiring in 2005, said the number of

immigrants killed or wounded was low considering the dangers and activity levels along the border. He said they

encounter so many dangerous situations with smugglers that they must approach every encounter expecting the

worse.

"If you look at the narcotics interdictions along the border, if you look at the number of weapons that are found, that's

not a high number," Acosta said.

Allen said she has long complained to Border Patrol officials that they need a more comprehensive training program so

agents know how to better distinguish between armed smugglers and people looking to enter the country to live and

work.

A 2007 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the Border Patrol "exhibits attributes of an

effective training program." But it found that the ratio of young, inexperienced agents to experienced supervisors was

often too high.

Easterling said they have focused on hiring more experienced supervisors and trainers to show the new agents how and

when to use deadly force. He said agents are frequently outmanned by smuggling operations.

"We don't want any of this going on, clearly," he said. "But we realize that these organizations are not giving up without

a fight. In defense of themselves, their partners and innocent third parties, our agents will respond."