Roll of Honor
Ricardo Zarate
Incident
Location: Texas Incident Date: Not available
Border Patrol Agent Ricardo Zarate died from complications as a result of contracting COVID-19 in the line of duty in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas.
Agent Zarate had served with the United States Border Patrol for 12 years and was assigned to the McAllen Station.
Your family is amazing. Your kids are getting big, and they look so much like you. Your wife is amazing and has done so much to help your kids remember you. I don't see them much, but I reach out letting them know their green family still thinks of them. You should still be here with them. C- know your green family is here for you and we think of you often.
KM USBP May 16th, 2025
COVID-19 and Law Enforcement
Border Patrol Agent Ricardo Zarate died on August 16, 2021 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 33.
He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 17 at United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - United States Border Patrol.
Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.
Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.
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BO-US-FED-929668C4- Stewardship
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- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Border Patrol Agent Zarate gave the United States Department of Homeland Security 12 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Border Patrol Agent Zarate.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Border Patrol Agent Ricardo Zarate is one of 2,974 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 9.1% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In DC, 137 of 1,419 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 9.7% of this state's fallen. That is 0.6 percentage points above the national rate of 9.1%.
At United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - United States Border Patrol, 21 of 63 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 33.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Ricardo Zarate's cause is highlighted.
How Ricardo Zarate Compares
When Illness Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. Ricardo Zarate is highlighted in Aug.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
62 officers from United States Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Protection - United States Border Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
