An agent with the Tucson Sector U.S. Border Patrol, Anibal A. Perez, died in the line of duty, the group announced on Thursday.
The officer, who passed away earlier this month, had served the organization since 2006.
“The entire USBP family mourns the loss of Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Anibal ‘Tony’ A. Perez who sadly passed away in the line of duty. Please keep his family, friends, and colleagues in your thoughts,” said Raul Ortiz, chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, in a tweet.
The entire USBP family mourns the loss of Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Anibal “Tony” A. Perez who sadly passed away in the line of duty. Please keep his family, friends, and colleagues in your thoughts. pic.twitter.com/kfC8bLfFRq
— Chief Jason Owens (@USBPChief) November 11, 2021
However, Ortiz nor officials with Border Patrol did not immediately provide information on the circumstances that led to the death of the officer.
Earlier this year, Tucson Border Patrol agent Daniel Cox was killed in a head-on crash while on duty. Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff in his honor.
Ducey, who recently visited the Tucson Sector headquarters, has praised the employees for their work and urged President Joe Biden to take action to secure the border, in an effort to reduce the load placed on the agents.
According to data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the group has apprehended 1.7 million migrants during the fiscal year, the highest number in decades.
“We’ve been saying for months that our country has more than just a border crisis — we have a humanitarian crisis,” said Governor Ducey. “Children and families have faced illness, violence and death on their treacherous path to our border. This has direct implications for Arizona, especially our border communities. All Arizonans—all Americans—owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women of the Border Patrol for their dedication and hard work. Thank you to Tucson Sector agents for today’s briefing and for the frank assessment on what they’re seeing on the ground and what additional actions are needed.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
