In March, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced that there had been 140,000 known “got-aways” at the Southwest border since Oct. 1, 2023. Known got-aways refers to the number of migrants that were able to evade capture while crossing the border illegally into the United States. It further means that there is a strong likelihood that a percentage of that number is comprised of violent criminals. We can debate that percentage, but the irrefutable fact is that this unspecified percentage of undocumented violent criminals poses a threat to officer safety.
Am I suggesting that 140,000 migrants are going to immediately attack law enforcement officers? No, absolutely not.
Like many Americans, I believe that the majority of migrants entering the United States illegally are simply searching for a better life. However, as I try to hold onto that optimistic perspective, a startling mathematical assessment illustrates the prospective problem for officer safety. If we consider that just 1% of the known got-aways may seek to harm law enforcement officers, that equates to 1,400 violent criminals now in our communities. How many of these 1,400 are terrorists, gang members, rapists, or mentally deranged violent criminals? And when the police come into contact with any of these 1,400, how many of them will attack, injure, or kill an officer?
Is this a far-fetched xenophobic rant? Not in the least.
Let us first consider published data from the CBP.gov website. From 2023 to the present, migrants committed an average of 40 assaults per month against Border Patrol agents. In fiscal year 2023, the Border Patrol captured 598 gang-affiliated migrants, and 169 migrants on the terrorist watchlist. The vast majority of these incidents involve migrants that crossed the Southwest border. There is no evidence to suggest that any of these migrants with violent backgrounds were crossing into the United States to advocate for world peace. And to be clear, these migrants were caught and thankfully not in the known got-away category.
In addition to the Border Patrol’s great work, the officers of the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) did a great job capturing known violent migrants during this time period. According to the ICE.gov website, ERO removed 3,406 known or suspected gang members in fiscal year 2023. That represents a 27.7% increase over the preceding year. ERO officers also captured 139 known or suspected terrorists in 2023, which represents a 148.2% over fiscal year 2022. This leaves us to question what the impact on officer safety would have been if these known violent migrants were able to evade capture and enter the United States.
Let us move from speculation to five documented examples of how law enforcement officers were impacted by violent migrant confrontation from 2023 to the present.
In May 2023, a Guatemalan migrant was arrested for manslaughter for his alleged involvement in the line-of-duty death of Sgt. Michael Kunovich of the St. John’s County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office. The migrant reportedly resisted arrest, claimed he did not speak English, and attempted to evade the officers, Sgt. Kunovich tragically succumbed to medical distress during the incident. ICE released the migrant 10 months later. This case risks setting a bad precedent that a migrant can claim a language barrier as an excuse to actively resist law enforcement.
In January 2024, Americans watched the news media video coverage of 14 violent migrants viciously attacking two NYPD officers in Times Square. Fortunately, the officers’ determination, teamwork, and back-up support helped them survive the assault. This violent group included either known got-aways or unknown got-aways who posed a lethal threat to the officers. This situation was exacerbated by the reckless perspective on bail advocated by the Manhattan District Attorney and a judge that led to the release of these suspects after their arrest. What message does this send to other violent got-aways when interacting with the police?
During the following month in New York, a 15-year-old got-away allegedly shot at NYPD officers. After attempting to rob a store, this violent migrant shot a tourist and then targeted officers as he attempted to flee, police say.
Later that same month, a got-away reportedly shot three Metro DC officers in Washington and then became a barricaded lethal subject. Fortunately, all three officers survived.
In March, an illegal migrant under the influence crashed his vehicle into the patrol vehicle of a Washington state trooper, authorities say. Tragically, Trooper Christopher Gadd was killed.
Undoubtedly, the surge of got-aways across the Southwest border presents a critical officer safety hazard. During a March 24, 2024, news interview, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said the 140,000 got-aways is what keeps him up at night. I am with him, and what keeps me up at night is the next violent got-away that causes a law enforcement fatality. The federal government needs to get the Border Patrol and the Border sheriffs and officers the resources they need, so that violent got-aways become got-caughts.
Jon Adler is the former director of the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. He is also the former chief firearms and tactical training officer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, and a 26 year federal law enforcement veteran.
