EL PASO, Texas — New surveillance footage shows a Border Patrol agent lifting and slamming a migrant to the ground after an altercation outside of a homeless shelter, according to KFOX in El Paso.
After slamming the migrant to the ground, the agent is seen putting his leg on the man's back. The agent was walking a migrant over to the doors when the migrant turned to face him, which led to a confrontation.
According to the deputy director at El Paso's Opportunity Center for the Homeless, it started when a worker said the man stepped outside for a smoke break.
The center said they're unsure if the man is documented, or why he was approached by agents to begin with.
In a statement to KFOX, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the following:
"Although at the moment we do not have all the details of what occurred during this incident, CBP takes all allegations of misconduct seriously, investigates thoroughly, and holds employees accountable when policies are violated."
Ray Tullis, who founded the El Paso-based center, told KFOX they have a respectful and long-standing relationship with law enforcement. They also told KFOX that the incident "raises concerns for the well-being of the individual taken into custody and all the guests receiving services in our homeless program."
On Sunday, President Joe Biden walked a muddy stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border and inspected a busy port of entry Sunday on his first trip to the region after two years in office.
The visit seemed designed to showcase a smooth operation to process legal migrants, weed out smuggled contraband, and humanely treat those who have entered illegally, creating a counter-narrative to Republicans’ claims of a crisis situation equivalent to an open border.
Biden's visit was likely to do little to quell critics from both sides, including immigrant advocates who accuse him of establishing cruel policies, not unlike those of his hard-line predecessor, Donald Trump.
In a sign of the deep tensions over immigration, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, handed Biden a letter as soon as he touched down in the state that said the “chaos” at the border was a “direct result” of the president’s failure to enforce federal laws. Biden later took the letter out of his jacket pocket during his tour, telling reporters, “I haven’t read it yet.”