Mexican Migrant Is Shot to Death

A Mexican national attempting to cross into the United States was shot and killed by a ranch hand who mistook him for a wild hog, officials said Monday, the latest event in what some fear could be one of deadliest years along the Southwest border.

There is no evidence that the ranch hand intended to kill the man, authorities said.

The victim and three other men, including one of the man’s relatives, were resting under a huisache tree Sunday night, apparently to escape the oppressive heat of South Texas, said Lt. Juan Hernandez of the Webb County Sheriff’s Office. It is unclear how long the men had been on foot, said Hernandez, who runs the criminal investigation unit.

The group was crossing the 15,000-acre Hurd Villegas Ranch, owned by the family of J.R. Hurd, a prominent oilman and developer and the son of John Gavin Hurd, President Nixon’s ambassador to South Africa during the apartheid era. The ranch is about 16 miles east of Laredo, the Webb County seat, and about 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexican border.

Shortly after 8 p.m. five ranch hands were hunting for feral hogs that are frequently killed for food and because they are seen as nuisances known to destroy outbuildings and crops, Hernandez said.

One of the ranch hands, 34-year-old Juan Garza Mendoza, thought the migrants were a group of hogs hiding behind the tree, Hernandez said. Mendoza fired a single rifle shot from more than 100 yards away and struck the victim in the abdomen, Hernandez said. The man died quickly, the lieutenant said. Mendoza could not be reached for comment.

Hernandez declined to release the victim’s name pending notification of next of kin.

J.R. Hurd, in an interview from his San Antonio offices, said Monday that Mendoza was aiming at a hog, missed and hit the man.

“He ... was unaware of the migrants in the brush,” Hurd said. “The young man who works for us who is involved in this very unfortunate incident has never had any history at all of mistreating these immigrants in any way. To the contrary, he’s been extraordinarily helpful to them when they’ve been in tough shape.”

Mendoza is not in custody and is cooperating with the investigation, Hernandez said. He likely will be charged with manslaughter, the lieutenant said.

“It doesn’t matter whether you had the intent to kill someone or not, but when you fire a weapon and you are reckless in the manner you discharge your weapon and it causes the death of a person, you can be charged with manslaughter,” the lieutenant said. “If you intend to shoot a hog, you have to make certain that what you are shooting and aiming at is a hog.”

Francisco Perez, an official at the Mexican consulate in Laredo, said the Mexican government is “working on the case.” He said he could not provide any additional information. The three men who were with the victim have been released into the custody of the consulate and likely will be returned to Mexico.

Last month, 19 immigrants died after more than 100 people tried to cross Texas in the back of a tractor-trailer. Last week, two civil rights organizations filed suit against one of the region’s paramilitary vigilante groups that patrol the border, searching for illegal immigrants. The lawsuit alleges that vigilantes apprehended, detained and assaulted six migrant workers, assertions that were denied.

Statistics recording the number of deaths along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border are kept by fiscal year. Last year was one of the worst; 320 men and women, most of them Mexican nationals, died trying to cross the border, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. This fiscal year, which began in October, more than 100 people have died. Parts of the Southwest have experienced record-high temperatures this spring, and with the hottest months of the year still to come, many officials say they fear this summer will be the deadliest yet.

The Border Patrol has started programs designed to stem the flow of immigrants and assist crossers in distress, including placing rescue beacons in the desert. But critics say the agency’s recent strategy of concentrating agents in urban areas that have served as prime border-crossing spots has forced migrants to cross remote desert patches and huge ranches.

“The flow of illegal immigrants has continued in spite of the efforts to crack down,” said Joseph Berra, a San Antonio-based attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

“That flow of immigrants has been driven to more inhospitable places along the border, pushing people to greater risk, which they are willing to take out of ignorance or desperation -- or because they just think that the dream of building a better life for their family makes it necessary to take those risks, Berra said. “This is another tragic incident.”