Lack of immigration enforcement is putting the lives of Border Patrol agents in danger, as evidenced by the recent killing of off-duty agent Javier Vega Jr., says a Border Patrol union official.
"Agents are upset, and rightfully so. One of our brothers has been murdered by people that shouldn't have been in this country in the first place," National Border Patrol Council Vice President Shawn Moran said Thursday on Fox News Channel's
"On the Record with Greta Van Susteren." "And it shows that it's a failure of our immigration system."
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Two illegal immigrants have been charged in the killing of Vega, who was shot to death Sunday night as his wife, two children, and his parents looked on. The family was on a fishing trip when the suspects allegedly attempted to rob him.
Gustavo Tijerina, 30, and Ismael Hernandez Vallejo, 40, are charged in the killing.
Moran said the two had been
deported multiple times.
"That's indicative of what has happened under this administration [and] the previous administration," he told Van Susteren. "Some of us die doing this job. And now we're dying … off-duty as well."
Moran said the government has a "catch-and-release" policy with illegals, and in the last 15 years, every type of border operation has been restricted.
"We have handcuffed the Border Patrol at every turn," he said.
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