Border Patrol agents in New Mexico are holding an illegal immigrant sex offender after he illegally reentered the U.S. across the southern border.
Customs and Border Protection revealed Friday that earlier this week Border Patrol Agents from the Santa Teresa Station intercepted five individuals climbing through a hole in the border fence.
The agents chased the five subjects, finding them as they tried to hide in desert brush. One of the five illegal immigrants was Mario Perez-Contrera who had, what CBP described as, an “extensive criminal history.”
Perez-Contrera’s criminal history included a felony “Distributing via Electronic Communication Material Relates/Describes Sexual Conduct to a Child” and a prior conviction for sexual assault in Hastings, Minnesota. Both took place in 2012.
“This incident demonstrates how vigilance by U.S. Border Patrol Agents and the ability to rapidly respond is combating the furtherance of dangerous criminals into our community, while keeping our nation’s borders safe,” CBP added in a release.
According to CBP, Perez-Contreras is being prosecuted for illegal reentry.
The apprehension comes the same week Senate Democrats blocked legislation that would, in part, have upped the penalty for illegal reentry.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), also a GOP candidate for president, reintroduced the “Establishing Mandatory Minimums for Illegal Reentry Act of 2015” Wednesday.
“This ought to be a clear choice: With whom do you stand? I hope my colleagues in the Senate will support this bill and stand with the American people – the people we should be protecting – rather than convicted felons like the murderer of Kate Steinle,” Cruz said Thursday, referencing the Kathryn Steinle, who was murdered in July by an illegal immigrant criminal who had been deported at least five times.