Migrants trying to climb a wall to illegally enter Texas threw water bottles, rocks and sand at Border Patrol agents, according to state authorities and video of the tense standoff.
The confrontation this week was filmed from above by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which “provided air support” to the US agents who foiled the border-crossing attempt near the Santa Teresa port of entry, DPS said.
The migrants appeared ready to climb over the wall and use a rope ladder to scurry down when they were met by federal authorities, the aerial video shows.
At least one migrant who made it to the US side was quickly detained and another who was going down the ladder on the US side was also grabbed, the footage shows.
Other migrants engaged with Border Patrol in a tug of war over the ladder.
When it became apparent most migrants weren’t going to get to the other side, one man can be seen tossing a few handfuls of sand through the grated wall. Another migrant pelted border agents with at least two water bottles, the footage indicates.
At least two migrants at the top of the wall continued struggling with the ladder with a border agent on the ground before they gave up and went back down to the Mexican side of the barrier.
Santa Teresa port of entry, close to where the skirmish happened, is near the border of Texas and New Mexico.
“The video illustrates recent behavior by these groups in the El Paso Sector—throwing rocks, sand & water bottles at responding agents,” said Texas’ Department of Public Safety.
This week’s chaos comes on the heels of the violent March 21 storming of the border that took place in El Paso where 211 migrants were charged with rioting.
But the charges were later dropped after a judge said his “hands [were] tied” because the state did not provide required paperwork.