Three Migrant Sex Offenders Arrested in as Many Hours at Texas Border

Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents arrested three previously deported sex offenders who illegally re-entered the U.S. The deported sex offenders entered Texas within three hours of each other on March 25.

Uvalde Station Border Patrol agents arrested a man suspected of illegally entering the U.S. about 8 a.m. on Thursday, according to information obtained from Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials. The agents identified the man as a Mexican national, illegally present in the United States.

All migrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents undergo a biometric background check that includes a criminal history search. During the records check, the agents discovered a conviction for the sexual assault of two minors in 2014, officials reported. The court sentenced the Mexican national to ten years in prison. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers deported him to Mexico in 2017.

Just under three hours later, Carrizo Springs Station Border Patrol agents encountered a large group of migrants who illegally crossed the border into the United States. While processing these migrants, agents four two men, both Mexican nationals, have convictions in their criminal history. A court sentenced one of the men for sexual assault of a child in 2015 and sentenced him to five years probation. ERO officers deported him to Mexico that same year.

Another court sentenced the second man to two years probation following a conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 2009, officials stated. ERO officers deported him to Mexico in 2009.

During the past two weeks, Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents stopped seven convicted sex offenders from successfully making their way into the U.S. interior.

“These three predators had convictions for aggravated criminal sexual abuse and sexual assault of minors,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Austin L. Skero II said in a written statement. “We continue to see an increase in convicted sex offenders entering the country illegally and I credit our agents and law enforcement partners for quickly identifying them and ensuring that they do not make it into our communities.”

All three Mexican nationals now face federal felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal as a deported sex offender. If convicted, each could face up to 20 years in federal prison.