Border Patrol Agents Arrest Sex Offenders, Gang Members in South Texas

Border Patrol agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector stopped sex offenders and gang members from making their way to their U.S. destinations over the weekend. During a four-day period, agents arrested four child molesters and three gang members after they illegally crossed the border. The arrests include fugitives who fled the country to avoid prosecution and previously deported criminal aliens.

Rio Grande City Station agents arrested a man who illegally crossed the border near Roma, Texas, on Sunday. During processing, agents learned the Salvadoran national was convicted in Angleton, Texas, in February 2015 for a 2014 charge of sexual assault of a child. The Salvadoran national received a five-year prison sentence and was deported after being released early by prison officials.

On Saturday, agents assigned to the McAllen Station arrested a man who crossed the border illegally near Hidalgo, Texas. Agents learned the Honduran national was convicted in Marion County, Texas, for child molestation. In March 2006, a Texas district court sentenced the man to spend four years in prison.

Later that day, agents assigned to the Weslaco Station captured another Honduran man after he illegally crossed the border near the town of Alamo, Texas. The Dunwoody, Georgia, Police Department arrested the man in July 2014 on a charge of child molestation, officials stated. He apparently fled the country to avoid prosecution. Agents learned the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has an outstanding felony warrant for the man in connection with those charges.

Fort Brown Station agents arrested a Mexican national after he crossed the border illegally near Brownsville, Texas. Officials said his record revealed an arrest in neighboring Edinburg, Texas on a charge of Indecency with a Child Sexual Contact.

On Thursday, agents arrested two members of the 18th Street gang in locations about 200 miles apart. First, agents assigned to the Weslaco Border Patrol Station arrested a Salvadoran man near the border city of McAllen. Later that day, Corpus Christi Station agents arrested another Salvadoran man near Goliad, Texas. The town of Goliad is located nearly 200 miles from the nearest border crossing. The records of both men revealed their membership in the violent 18th Street gang.

Finally, on June 1, agents assigned to the Corpus Christi Station arrested a Salvadoran national near the town of Goliad, Texas. A records check revealed the man is a known member of the transnational criminal gang known as Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).