Illegal migrant punches, bites US Border Patrol agent — as agency battles face ‘significant rise’ in attacks

An illegal migrant punched and took a bite out of a US Border Patrol agent’s face Thursday — as the brave men and women on the frontlines of the Harris-Biden border crisis battle a “significant rise” in assaults.

The brazen attack took place on Mount Cristo Rey in Sunland Park, New Mexico — which is known as a smuggler’s paradise where migrants run down the wall-less remote mountain and flee further into the US.

The agent sustained non-life-threatening injuries and the migrant was arrested and taken to a local hospital, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement.

It was just the latest incident contributing to an unsettling upturn in attacks on border agents.

Since October 2023, the beginning of the new financial year, 413 border officials have been assaulted on the job, according to federal data.

There were 610 officers assaulted in total over the 2023 financial year, which ended at the end of September, the data shows.

Last month, CBP warned of a “significant rise in attacks on Border Patrol Agents,” reminding attackers “of the consequences of assaulting a federal officer.”

Earlier this month, a border agent was pulled off his patrol horse by an illegal migrant in nearby Santa Teresa, New Mexico, according to a leaked agency memo obtained by The Post.

Agents stationed along the El Paso sector of the besieged US-Mexio border — which includes New Mexico as well as West Texas — said they have experienced assaults almost “every night” in recent months.

One officer described getting “completely getting bum rushed by groups” who storm down from the mountain and kick and punch agents as they desperately try and dash into the US.

Another law enforcement source working in the area said illegal border crossings have been “picking up,” bringing in more “violence.”

Meanwhile, the migrants often don’t face consequences, a frustrated Border Patrol source fumed to The Post, saying that, “half the time we don’t ever prosecute them unless the agent is bleeding.”

In the case of the Border Patrol agent being forcefully yanked off his horse, prosecutors pursued an illegal entry charge for the migrant but declined to levy assault charges, according to the leaked memo.

The US Attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.

The plagued El Paso sector has also become the preferred entry point for violent Tren de Aragua gangbangers to sneak into the US — and go on to commit crimes across the country.

More than 100 suspected members of the Venezuelan prison gang were arrested after participating in the El Paso migrant riot exclusively captured by The Post in March — when hundreds of migrants stormed the border wall and assaulted National Guard soldiers trying to control the chaos.

Tren de Aragua recently issued a “green light” to its members to shoot US cops, adding to the already tense situation at the border.