Gang Members, Sex Offenders Continue Crossing Unsecured Border

Border Patrol agents along the southwestern U.S. border with Mexico continue to apprehend criminal sex offenders and dangerous gang members who exploit incomplete or outdated border barriers to regain entry into the U.S. after being deported.

Rio Grande Valley Sector agents assigned to the Falfurrias Station on February 22 located about 80 miles from the Texas-Mexico border came upon a Mexican national attempting to circumvent the immigration checkpoint located in the middle of Brooks County, Texas, according to information received from Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol officials. The agents apprehended the migrant and transported him to the Falfurrias Station where a biometric background investigation uncovered an extensive history of deportations and a criminal history that included convictions on drug charges and sexual assault.

That same day, agents assigned to the Brian A. Terry Border Patrol Station in the Tucson Sector arrested a Mexican national while patrolling the border near Naco, Arizona. The agents transported the man to the station for processing where identified him as 36-year-old Eloy Flores-Balbuena. A records check uncovered a 2013 felony conviction from a court in Liberty, Illinois, for battery.  The court sentenced him to 176 days in jail and 12 months probation.

Falfurrias Station agents came upon a group of three illegal aliens who also attempted to circumvent the immigration checkpoint on Thursday. The agents apprehended the migrants and transported them to the station for processing. The agents carried out a biometric background investigation and discovered that one of the migrants, a Honduran national, had been previously arrested by the Longview, Texas, police department for sexual assault.

That same day, agents assigned to the Calexico Station in the El Centro Sector also arrested a previously deported sex offender who exploited the outdated border barrier in the area to illegally re-enter the U.S. Agents patrolling about 16 miles west of the Calexico Port of Entry encountered a man they suspected had entered the U.S. illegally. The agents arrested the man and transported him to the Calexico Station where a background investigation identified the man as 33-year-old Eduardo Leon, a Mexican national. His records indicated a conviction in Las Vegas, Nevada, for Open or Gross Lewdness with a child under the age of 18. The court convicted the man on August 18 and sentenced him to two years and eight months in state prison. Eight days later, an immigration judge ordered the migrant deported.

“Thankfully our agents were able to apprehend this child predator,” El Centro Sector Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David Kim said in a written statement. “Sexual offenders like Leon are dangerous and need to be kept out of our communities.”

One day earlier, McAllen Station agents patrolling near the town of Edinburg, Texas, arrested a Salvadoran man who was illegally present in the U.S. After transporting the man to the McAllen Station for processing the agents learned the illegal alien has a criminal history that included a conviction for a 2nd degree sex offense in Baltimore, Maryland. The court sentenced the Salvadoran migrant to 20 years in state prison.

On Wednesday, Kingsville Station agents patrolling on a ranch near the Sarita Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77 arrested a group of eight migrants. While processing the migrants, agents found several tattoos on one man that are affiliated with the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang, officials stated. The agents confronted the Salvadoran national who admitted his gang membership. A records check also uncovered a previous deportation following drug charges.

All migrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents after illegally crossing the border undergo a biometric background investigation to identify illegal aliens with a history of criminal or immigration violations and possible gang affiliation.

Those migrants arrested who have previously been deported could face new felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in a federal prison before being removed again.