United States Border Patrol agents on the Mexican border have been attacked 250 times since October began, according to an Associated Press report. Assaults are up 38 percent from the same period last year.

From September 2006 to September 2007, the Border Patrol was attacked 987 times, the highest rate on record. Officials attribute the increase to successful efforts by the patrol to prevent illegal aliens from crossing the border.

To deal with the problem of illegal immigration and smuggling, the Department of Homeland Security is constructing a 370-mile border fence along with 300 miles of vehicle barriers to obstruct illegal immigrants and drug smugglers in the southwest.

The Mexican government, however, is trying to torpedo the idea, calling it “medieval,” “stupid,” and a severe environmental threat. Mexican President Felipe Calderón complained about “growing harassment” of Mexican migrants.

The fence is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008. The total length of the U.S.-Mexico border, however, is approximately 2,000 miles.

For more on this subject, read “The Trouble With Immigration.”