Multiple Sex Offenders, Gang Members Arrested After Crossing Border from Mexico

Border Patrol agents arrested multiple sex offenders and gang members along the southwest border with Mexico. Those arrested include sex offenders, violent criminals, and members of gangs.

In the Rio Grande Valley Sector, agents arrested multiple criminal gang members and a child sex offender earlier last week, according to information obtained from Border Patrol officials.

Kingsville Station agents arrested Gilberto Magana-Chavarria at the Javier Vega Jr. Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77. During processing, the agents discovered the Mexican nation received a conviction from an Oklahoma court in 2017 for two counts of indecent or lewd acts with a child under the age of 18. The court also sentenced him for child abuse of a child under the age of 16, officials stated. The court sentenced the migrant to 5 years in prison and 20 years of probation for each of the charges.

McAllen Station agents patrolling the border near Penitas, Texas, on September 1, apprehended a group of 13 migrants. A records check identified one of the men as a member of the Gulf Cartel.

Another group of 25 migrants apprehended on August 30 led to the arrest of a Salvadoran man hiding in the group. The agents confirmed he is a member of the 18th Street gang and had previously been deported in 2018.

Later that day, McAllen agents working near Hidalgo, Texas, encountered a group of 74 migrants. Agents found an MS-13 gang member from Honduras embedded with the group of migrants.

Further to the west, Del Rio Sector agents patrolling the border near Eagle Pass, Texas, arrested 29-year-old Robison Lopez–Morales, a Guatemalan national, after he illegally crossed the border on August 30. A records check uncovered a conviction from an Alabama court in April 2019 for attempted sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12, officials stated. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officer took custody of the Guatemalan man and deported him in June 2019. He now faces federal felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal.

Calexico Station agents in the El Centro Sector of Southern California arrested a man on September 2 for illegally crossing the border just east of downtown Calexico. A records check identified the migrant, a 34-year-old Mexican national as a member of the Third Street gang. Records also show a felony conviction. Immigration records also show a previous deportation.