Deported Sex Offender Caught Crossing California Border

El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported sex offender after he illegally re-entered the U.S. near Calexico, California. The Mexican national has a conviction from Utah on charges of Sexual Abuse of a Child.

Calexico Station Border Patrol agents observed a man they suspected of illegal entry on the morning of July 27. The man apparently crossed approximately 12 miles east of the Calexico West Port of Entry, according to El Centro Sector officials.

The agents interviewed the man and arrested him for an immigration violation relating to the illegal crossing. They transported the man to the Calexico Station for processing and a biometric background investigation. The agents identified the illegal immigrant as Gregorio Neri-Basilio, 36, from Mexico. The background check uncovered a 2014 conviction in Utah County, Utah, for three counts of Sexual Abuse of a Child. The court sentenced Neri-Basilio to 12 months in prison. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers deported the man as an aggravated felon in February 2005, officials reported.

Neri-Basilio now faces felony charges for illegally re-entering the U.S. as a previously deported sex offender. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Border Patrol agents frequently find previously deported child rapists and other sexual predators. This fiscal year, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested and removed 19 previously convicted or wanted sex offenders.

A Yuma Sector Border Patrol official told Breitbart News on Monday that the reduction in the numbers of family units and unaccompanied minors in June and July is allowing agents to return to their border security mission. The official said they are now able to apprehend more of these types of criminal aliens attempting to make their way back to the U.S.

Just last week, El Paso Sector agents apprehended a Guatemalan wanted in Kansas on charges of rape and kidnapping of a child under the age of 14, Breitbart News reported. The man attempted to avoid arrest by crossing the border with a group of 88 migrants.

Also last week, Tucson Sector agents apprehended another Guatemalan with a previous deportation. The man served prison time following a conviction for his role in a murder-for-hire scheme. That same day, the agents also arrested a Mexican national with a previous deportation following a conviction in New York for sexual conduct against a child and endangering the welfare of a child.