U.S. Border Patrol reported making dozens of arrests of unlawful migrants in recent months, including several suspected or convicted violent offenders.
The U.S.-Mexico border remains a high-activity site for unlawful crossing attempts, according to Border Patrol officials.
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced earlier this week on X, formerly known as Twitter, that agents had caught over 160 unlawful migrants with gang affiliations attempting to cross into the United States this fiscal year. These gang affiliations include the Colombian Paisas and the international Mara Salvatrucha, aka MS-13.
Notably, agents in Laredo also recently apprehended a convicted child predator and a suspected murderer with an active warrant in Louisiana. Both men were Mexican nationals.
Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin also posted on X about his team recently arresting several unlawful migrants with criminal convictions in the Tucson Sector.
The arrests included Mexican national Jesus Aurelio Tapia-Velez, who was convicted in Washington County, Texas, on felony sexual abuse charges, and Mexican national Alfredo Miranda-Neponzeno, who was convicted of felony forcible spousal rape in California.
Two more men — who were not publicly identified — were said to be found unlawfully entering the United States. One had prior convictions for second-degree murder and attempted murder, and the other was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child.
“As long as there’s no action coming out of Congress, we’re languishing in the same situation,” Owens remarked on Fox News’ The Story.
Referring to the $118 billion bipartisan federal border security bill that recently failed to pass in the Senate, Owens suggested that while he did not agree with everything about the bill, something was better than nothing.
“I don’t think there’s anybody that says that the bill has to have everything that we need in order for us to accept [it] — that’s why we have compromise,” he remarked.
Opponents of the bill included Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. In contrast, those who supported it included Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and the National Border Patrol Council.
