Portion of California interstate highway dedicated to fallen Border Patrol agent

Rosas Memorial Highway

Drivers on part of a busy California interstate highway near San Diego will remember the name of slain Border Patrol Agent Robert Rosas Jr.

Rosas, killed in the line of duty in 2009 in a remote section of border country near Interstate 8 and Campo, CA, was memorialized in a ceremony at the Campo Border Patrol Station on April 13, which dedicated a stretch of the highway in his honor. Rosas was killed the night of July 23, 2009. 

That night, Rosas responded to suspicious activity in an area notorious for alien and drug smuggling when he was shot and killed by unidentified assailants, said CBP. Reports said Rosas’ killers lured him into the brush in the remote borderland to rob him of his night vision goggles and other equipment. A suspect was later identified, tried, and convicted in the murder, said CBP.

Agent Rosas began his career with the Border Patrol May 22, 2006, as a member of the 621st Session of the Border Patrol Academy. He had been assigned to the Campo Border Patrol Station since his graduation and was 30 years old at the time of his death. He left behind a wife and two children, according to CBP.

To preserve Agent Rosas’ memory, said the agency, representatives from the Border Patrol, Local Border Patrol 1613 Union, CalTrans, SoCal Patriots, and California State Senator Joel Anderson’s office gathered to announce the renaming of a portion of Interstate 8 between San Diego and the Imperial Valley. As part of the ceremony, green signs were placed along the interstate to identify the stretch named in Robert Rosas’ honor. Also in attendance were members of Agent Rosas’ immediate and extended family, including his widow and children, said the agency.

“This is a very special occasion and a fitting tribute to ensure that our Border Patrol family member and friend, Robert Rosas, is never forgotten,” said Campo Border Patrol Station Acting Patrol Agent in Charge Richard Gordon.   

Because of these signs, the daily commuter on Interstate 8 will soon come to know Agent Rosas on their trips between Imperial Valley and San Diego, said the CBP. For Border Patrol agents who see Robert’s name on their way to work, it will be a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that he made and of the dangers Border Patrol agents face on a daily basis, it said.