Cartel gunmen open fire on US Border Patrol

The Telegraph: Cartel gunmen exchanged fire with US border patrol agents on Monday while attempting to smuggle illegal migrants across the US-Mexico border.

The migrants were seeking to enter the US via a river located near Fronton, southern Texas, with state officials later releasing drone footage that showed a group of men brandishing firearms as they walked along a river bank.

The clashes came after Donald Trump, the US president, returned to the White House last week and promptly signed a string of 21 Executive Orders designed to crack down on immigration.

Such orders included the declaration of a national emergency at the border, tasking the US military with aiding security, the sending of an additional 1,500 troops to the border, and the designation of cartels as foreign terror organisations.

On Monday, officials said border patrol agents were shot at by the suspected cartel gunmen. They returned fire and nobody in either party was hit, Fox News said.

Texas’ Department of Public Safety (DPS), patrolling the area after the encounter, later told the news outlet that Mexican military vehicles could be seen on the other side of the border.

Although border agents have previously been attacked by people smugglers, they generally attempt to keep a low profile for fear of drawing a retaliatory response from the US.

But the cartels have started acting in “unprecedented ways” since Donald Trump was elected in November and have even issued orders to shoot at agents, Newsnation reported.

 “On January 27, 2025, at approximately 1.29pm, [border patrol agents] reported shots fired in Fronton, Texas. The scene remains active; no injuries have been reported,” US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) said in a statement on Monday evening.

Chris Olivarez, a spokesman with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), said the suspected cartel members were fleeing Mexico when the gunfire broke out.

Mr Olivarez said DPS officers “responded to assist the US Border Patrol after agents received gunfire from cartel members in Mexico”.

“DPS Drone Operators captured the gunmen fleeing Mexico due to military presence, and seeking refuge on an island between the US and Mexico,” he said in a statement posted on X.

Mr Olivarez posted the drone footage online showing at least four men walking along a river and through nearby trees. At least two could be seen holding weapons in the footage.

Texas’ DPS have been approached for comment.

Troops deploy to guard southern border

Greg Abbott, governor of Texas, sent more than 400 soldiers from his state to assist with protecting the southern border on Monday.

The soldiers, from Fort Worth and Houston, were due to arrive as additional buoys were installed along the River Grande to deter migrants from crossing.

Mexico has received more than 4,000 migrants deported from the US including non-Mexicans, in the past week, Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said.

She had previously denied agreeing to resume the “Remain in Mexico” programme that existed during the first Trump administration.

The scheme forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until their often prolonged cases in the United States were resolved.

Ms Sheinbaum said on Monday that Mexico has received non-Mexican deportees from the United States over the past week, reversing her previous opposition to doing so.

Mexico had accepted over 4,000 deportees, of which a “large majority” were Mexican, she said, adding that her country was yet to see “substantial” increase in deportees received.

It came after Colombia blocked two military flights carrying deported migrants from the US on Sunday after earlier agreeing to accept them. Mr Trump responded by threatening punitive tariffs prompting the Colombian president to concede .

Mr Trump’s illegal migrant crackdown resulted in 956 arrests on Sunday alone, according to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with raids taking place in Chicago, Denver and Miami among other cities.

According to CNN, immigration agents have been told to be “camera ready” in case they are filmed by the media during raids.

Agents conducting arrests have been told to wear their agency insignias clearly so that people viewing the footage knew they were from Homeland Security or ICE.

The move is part of a PR blitz by the Trump administration to show off its ramping up of enforcement action.

Phil McGraw, the TV doctor known as “Dr Phil”, revealed on social media he had embedded with an ICE team in Chicago as the raids in the city began there.

In footage posted online, he questions Sam Seda, a Thai national who had just been arrested.

Thomas Homan, the head of ICE, told McGraw that Mr Seda is an “illegal alien convicted of crimes involving children”.

McGraw asked Seda if he had been charged for the crimes. Mr Seda replied: “Not really”.

A stunned McGraw replied: “Not really?! And never been deported?”

To which Mr Seda replied: “Nope”.

Credit: X/@LtChrisOlivarez