Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have arrested multiple sex offenders heading across the Southern Texas border at Del Rio, Texas.
According to CBP, agents in the Del Rio Sector seized and detained two men who had previously been convicted of sex crimes shortly after illegally crossing into the United States on Dec. 21.
One of the detained men came from Honduras and was convicted of sexually assaulting a child in 2018 and was sentenced four years later before being deported in 2020.
The second man, from Mexico, was found to have convictions for “lewd and lascivious acts with a minor child under 14” in 1999. He was sentenced to six years in prison and then deported in 2019 before crossing the border into the U.S.
“These arrests highlight the importance of border security and what it means to you,” said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens in a press release that announced the arrests.
“Border Patrol agents stand between good people and those who would do them harm. No matter the circumstances, they remain dedicated to keeping criminals like these out of your communities.”
Days later, CBP agents arrested another Honduran man, previously convicted of sexual assault of a child 13 to 15 years old in Louisiana, said Owens.
“For all those who say, ‘Border Security doesn’t matter’… There are people in this world who commit evil acts. That’s why we need law and order.”
Migrant crossings increase
According to CBP, 1.9 million migrants crossed the border illegally in the fiscal year 2021, which ran from Oct. 1, 2020, through Sept. 30, 2021.
The increase includes more than 1.3 million over the previous year and 800,000 more than the year before.
According to the agency, fiscal year 2022, which began Sept. 30, has already seen 384,466 CBP enforcement actions to date. The flood of migrants currently outpaces last year during the same period by more than 60,000.
In addition to the convicted sex offenders arrested, CBP agents in the Rio Grande Sector followed a trail of footprints on Dec. 20 to a suspected stash house in La Joya.
There they found 33 migrants from Central America and Mexico who had crossed the border illegally, as well as weapons.
In a separate incident, Laredo Sector agents apprehended more than 70 migrants in 24 hours Dec. 18-19.
The U.S. Border Patrol also recently announced that it arrested a “child predator” from Ecuador as he attempted to enter the United States illegally.
According to El Paso Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Gloria Chavez the Ecuadorian national had previous convictions for child molestation, aggravated sodomy and rape from Atlanta, Georgia. He had previously served 12 years for the convictions.
