RIO GRANDE VALLEY -
In the battle for the border, Border Patrol agents are under attack. Two agents were recently struck with rocks on the Rio Grande.
"They're buddies of mine. They're friends of mine, " said Randy De Leon. He's a Border Patrol agent, who is breaking his silence.
"They're my family. And anybody would do just about anything for family," he told CHANNEL 5 NEWS.
De Leon was raised in West Texas and is the third of four children. The all-star athlete moved to the Rio Grande Valley to be with his grandmother.
He earned a criminal justice degree from UTPA and was honored, after he and his brother pulled an elderly woman from a home that exploded.
He met his wife Luisa and they have four children.
The Border Patrol is part of their family. The field training officer said, "I believe in what I do. I really do. I believe in the badge I wear, the patches I wear, the uniform I wear…"