A Customs and Border Protection pilot was killed Monday in a helicopter crash near the California-Mexico border.
CBP said that the agent, an unidentified Air Interdiction Agent, was on a security mission when the helicopter went down in Potrero, California, in San Diego County. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation and Safety Board are investigating the crash.
“On December 16, a CBP Air and Marine Operations aircraft on a border security mission was involved in an aviation mishap in the vicinity of Potrero, California,” a CBP spokesman said. “Tragically, a CBP Air Interdiction Agent – the pilot and sole occupant of the aircraft – was pronounced deceased at the scene. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
NBC San Diego reported that the helicopter went down in the middle of a field in a hemp farm.
According to CBP, Air Interdiction Agents “perform air law enforcement operations involving the detection, prevention, interdiction, and apprehension of terrorist, terrorist weapons and other contraband and persons from illegally entering or attacking the United States.”
Earlier this year, the San Diego sector became one of the hot spots for illegal crossings into the United States, including over 37,000 in April alone.
Republican San Diego County Board Supervisor Jim Desmond said last week that the area is one of the worst in the country for human and drug trafficking. He told NewsNation that around 155,000 illegal migrants have been released into San Diego since 2022.
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The board voted last week 3-1 for a policy that would turn the jurisdiction into a “super sanctuary” county, thereby preventing its sheriff’s department from notifying ICE about illegal immigrants who had committed violent crimes.
However, San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez indicated that she would disregard the board’s policy.
“The Sheriff’s Office will not change its practices based on the Board resolution and policy that was passed at today’s meeting. The Board of Supervisors does not set policy for the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff, as an independently elected official, sets the policy for the Sheriff’s Office. California law prohibits the Board of Supervisors from interfering with the independent, constitutionally and statutorily designated investigative functions of the Sheriff, and is clear that the Sheriff has the sole and exclusive authority to operate the county jails.”
