The two-minute melee came after agents forcefully separated demonstrators from the fence at Heffernan Avenue and First Street after a hole had been cut through the iron barrier, Palmer said. The Border Patrol does not know if demonstrators on the U.S. side or on the Mexican side had cut the hole. About 50 to 100 demonstrators in Mexicali had joined Sunday’s protest. “As agents positioned themselves between the marchers and the breach in order to preserve the integrity of the border fence, several protesters physically assaulted the agents,” Palmer said. That's when they should have opened fire. This is our sovereign border, during a time of war.