AUSTIN, Texas — Border Patrol agents in El Paso used force to drive a group of Venezuelans out of the United States and back toward the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez in a tense scene on Monday, according to a new report.

Video taken by the El Paso Times on Monday afternoon showed more than 30 federal law enforcement officials walking back a larger group of noncitizens who had illegally crossed the border and approached agents outside a station under the international bridge.

El Paso Times photojournalist J. Omar Ornelas claimed on Twitter that he had witnessed agents fire "rubber bullets" at one person in an effort to push the group back across the canal and into Mexico. Video shared by Ornelas did not show the events that precipitated the incident, which federal authorities told the Washington Examiner came after an assault on an agent.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman later said one illegal immigrant in the group struck an agent with a flagpole, prompting agents to take action. The spokesman said agents responded by using pepper balls — not rubber bullets.

"On October 31, at approximately 12:20 p.m., a group of Venezuelan nationals attempted to illegally enter the United States while protesting along the Rio Grande River International Boundary near downtown El Paso," CBP wrote in a statement. "One of the protesters assaulted an agent with a flag pole, at which time agents responded by initiating crowd control measures. These measures included the use of the authorized less-lethal force pepperball launching system. The crowd then dispersed and returned to Mexico."

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