Straying Border Agents Reassigned

Two U.S. Border Patrol agents who crossed into Mexican territory last month while on duty have been reassigned to administrative duties pending the outcome of an internal investigation, officials said Friday.

U.S. border agents are strictly forbidden from crossing into Mexico while on patrol, said Gustavo de la Vina, chief patrol agent in San Diego.

“It’s a violation of our policy to go into Mexico,” De la Vina said. “We don’t operate in Mexico.”

In Mexico, such reported incursions by U.S. agents are an extremely sensitive issue, touching on the sovereignty of a nation that in the 19th Century lost half of its national territory to the United States. The recent incident involving U.S. agents has been reported in the Tijuana press.

The two agents, who were not identified, strayed “a few feet south of the border” on the afternoon of Sept. 23, said Ted Swofford, patrol spokesman. They were attempting to make an arrest in a rugged hillside area west of the port of entry at San Ysidro, authorities said.

There was no arrest and no one was injured during the incident, Swofford said.

Pending the outcome of the internal inquiry, authorities said, the agents could face a range of sanctions, from verbal reprimands to suspensions.

“It is an isolated incident and it is regrettable that it did occur,” De la Vina said.