U.S. Border Patrol agents engaged in a gunfight with suspected cartel members near the U.S.-Mexican border on Monday, as the U.S. government’s crackdown on criminal migrants escalates.
The exchange of gunfire occurred at around 2 p.m. local time near Fronton, Texas, exactly one week after President Donald Trump increased border security on his first day in office.
A group of illegal aliens attempted to cross the Rio Grande amid the gunfire but did not succeed. Fortunately, neither the Border Patrol agents nor the suspected cartel members were injured.
President Trump recently designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
The area where the shootout occurred is near Fronton Island, also known as “Cartel Island” due to criminal activities. In a 2023 interview with Fox News Digital, Commissioner Dawn Buckingham declared the land as Texas territory to allow law enforcement to patrol there officially.
COLOMBIAN LEADER QUICKLY CAVES AFTER TRUMP THREATS, OFFERS PRESIDENTIAL PLANE FOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS
A US Border Patrol officer deploys on the Rio Grande on a patrol of the US-Mexico border at Eagle Pass, Texas, on January 24, 2025. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
“One of the things that the General Land Office does is determine the center of a waterway,” Buckingham explained. “Everything that is the center of the Rio Grande and north, of course, the state of Texas and the United States territory.”
“The land just hadn’t been accurately declared as it was forming in the river. That’s why we had to step in and officially declare it Texas territory.”
BILLIONAIRES COZY UP TO TRUMP WITH SEVEN FIGURE INAUGURAL DONATIONS AFTER PAST FEUDS WITH PRESIDENT
Wilderness surrounds the banks of the Rio Grande River, which is the border between the United States and Mexico in this part of rural Texas, on December 1, 2023 in Fronton, Starr County, Texas. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)
A recent Fox News Digital report revealed a significant decrease in encounters with illegal immigrants in the early days of the Trump administration – 35% lower than the final days of the Biden administration.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sources reported 1,288 encounters nationwide on Jan. 17, followed by 1,266 on Jan. 18 and 1,354 on Jan. 19. In contrast, the final days of the Biden administration saw 3,908 encounters, compared to 2,523 encounters in the first three days of the Trump administration: 1,073; 736; and 714 from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22, respectively.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The banks of the Rio Grande/Bravo River on the border of El Paso, Texas, United States with Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on January 20, 2025. (Photo by HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
“Enforcing our Nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” Trump stated in an executive order. “The American people deserve a Federal Government that puts their interests first and a Government that understands its sacred obligation to prioritize the safety, security, and financial and economic well-being of Americans.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
