The U.S. Border Patrol reported thousands of arrests of unlawful migrants with past criminal histories this week.
In a post on X, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens wrote that agents had made more than 6,400 arrests thus far in FY 2024 of individuals with criminal convictions, including murder, rape, and drug or weapons smuggling. In another post, he said that 178 of the unlawful migrants arrested had gang affiliations.
The Texas Scorecard previously reported on a nationwide effort last month to arrest unlawful migrants with criminal records called “Operation Night Guard.” The sting was conducted through ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
Field office director Miguel Vergara, who ran an operation in Harlingen, Texas, said in a statement earlier this month that he was “extremely pleased” with the outcome of the operation.
“The arrests are a testament to ERO’s commitment to arrest and remove those who undermine the safety of our communities and the integrity of U.S. immigration laws,” Vergara said, per a news release.
According to the U.S. Border Patrol, the agency arrested more than 73,000 individuals in FY 2023 who collectively had 290,178 charges and convictions — an average of four per individual.
The scale of the operation begs the question of how many criminals, gang members, and terrorists who entered the United States unlawfully have managed to evade border agents. The Dallas Express reported that as of January 23, U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates that 1.7 million unlawful migrants “got away.” The Department of Homeland Security estimates the true number could be 20% higher.
Some of the most heinous crimes purportedly committed by some of those arrested have involved the sex trafficking of children. Some areas of Texas, such as the metroplex, have seen a major spike in the number of cases of human trafficking.
“Often, children will be put in the hands of cartels and sent to the U.S., and it often happens that those children are put in the hands of human traffickers once they get here. They will be used for sex trafficking or labor trafficking, as there is less and less oversight over the government agencies that should be ensuring the children’s safety once in the U.S.,” Selene Rodriguez, a policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, told the Texas Scorecard.
For its part, Dallas logged a significant increase in sex trafficking cases and prostitution-related offenses last year amid a serious staffing shortage at the Dallas Police Department, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The department only has around 3,000 officers at present despite a previous City analysis recommending closer to 4,000.
The situation is even worse in California, the number one state in the nation for human trafficking. Recent changes in state law that decriminalized prostitution have left police without the ability to do much other than offer brochures on how to get help. A recent sting operation in Visalia, California, resulted in the arrest of 12 online predators in just four days.
“We organize operations like this to diminish the presence of online child predators and combat the exploitation of children in our communities,” said Visalia Police Capt. Andy Swarthou, per a press release.
Estimates vary on the number of unlawful migrants engaged in the sex trade. Human labor trafficking has also been prevalent, often involving unlawful migrants working in agriculture, textiles, and the hospitality industry, according to a press release from California Attorney General Rob Bonta detailing the recent sting operation.