The State : Taunting at Border Probed

The U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego will begin an inquiry into an incident late Sunday in which an agent taunted hundreds of undocumented immigrants for more than an hour with slurs amplified over his vehicle’s public address system. Michael D. Gregg, supervisory patrol agent, said the patrol would “look into” the taunting, which was witnessed by journalists and occurred Sunday evening along the Tijuana River in San Diego, a major crossing point for those seeking to enter the United States from Mexico without documentation. The incident comes at a time when Border Patrol officials have maintained that they face increasing threats of violence from hostile crowds of would-be immigrants who mass along the border each evening, occasionally harassing the agents verbally and pelting them with rocks. Less than two hours after the taunting was overheard, a Border Patrol agent near the same area shot and wounded a 15-year-old Mexican boy who patrol agents say was about to hurl a rock at another agent.