Former border agent sentenced for striking migrant with car

TUCSON, Ariz. – A former Border Patrol agent who called migrants “savages” and “subhuman” in text messages less than a month before he used his vehicle to knock over a fleeing Guatemalan migrant has been sentenced to three years’ probation.

Matthew Bowen pleaded guilty in August to a federal misdemeanour count of deprivation of rights in August.

He was indicted in May 2018 for the Dec. 3, 2017, incident in southern Arizona.

Bowen was put on leave shortly after his indictment and later resigned from the Border Patrol.

Bowen’s case drew widespread attention after his text messages from November 2017, calling migrants “savages” and “subhuman,” were included in a court filing.

Bowen faced up to a year in prison for the charge he pleaded guilty to.

He was sentenced Wednesday.