Over the weekend, Border Patrol agents in Texas intercepted three individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, all of whom were sex offenders convicted of crimes against children.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens reported via X that the apprehensions occurred in Eagle Pass, Rio Grande City, and Cotulla. All three individuals had prior felony convictions for indecency with a child involving sexual contact. Neither their names nor further information about the convictions was provided.
“They will be set up for prosecution and removal from the U.S.,” Owens wrote.
This most recent development comes in the wake of heightened concerns regarding the influx of criminal elements crossing into the United States amid the ongoing unlawful migration crisis at the southern border.
Despite efforts to mitigate the situation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that 2023 saw over 2.4 million encounters with illegal migrants at the border. As of March 2024, this year had logged more than 1.3 million.
Alongside regular updates from Owens on violent offenders, gang members, and more encountered by agents at the border, recent reports have also shed light on the disturbing trend of border-related crimes occurring in the U.S. For instance, a group of suspected unlawful migrants was apprehended in Baytown earlier this month for possession of child pornography, as reported by Texas Scorecard.
Additionally, in February, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended six unlawful migrants in the Houston area as part of a nationwide operation. Three were identified as convicted child predators, while the other three had convictions for sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault with a firearm, and sexual battery.
“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the brave men and women of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston field office, we were able to remove six noncitizen sex offenders from the community, including three convicted child predators. The recent operation to arrest and detain dangerous noncitizen sex offenders residing in the Houston area is another example of our commitment to make our communities safer,” said ERO Houston Field Office Director Bret Bradford in a statement announcing the arrests.
During 2023, ERO Houston apprehended 7,100 unlawful migrants with at least one criminal conviction, along with an additional 2,427 illegal migrants facing pending criminal charges.
Nationwide, ERO arrested a total of 73,822 unlawful migrants with criminal backgrounds, who collectively faced 290,178 associated charges and convictions, averaging four per individual. Among these were 33,209 assault charges, 4,390 sex and sexual assault charges, 7,520 weapons offenses, 1,713 homicide charges or convictions, and 1,655 kidnapping offenses, per ICE.
The Biden administration has called for comprehensive immigration reform and increased funding in hopes of addressing the underlying issues contributing to these reoccurring incidents in the county.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Biden visited the border in February to bring awareness to his border security agreement. An agreement that White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed is “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades.”
“So here’s what I would say to Mr. Trump: Set a planned policy position instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation,” Biden said during his February border visit.
According to a Gallup poll conducted in February, the majority of respondents (55%) reported believing that “large numbers of immigrants entering the United States illegally” pose a “critical threat” to U.S. interests. This was a record-breaking share, beating the rate of 50% recorded in a poll from 2004.
