Convicted child predators apprehended at Texas border

Last weekend, Border Patrol agents in Texas intercepted three individuals attempting to illegally enter the United States, all sex offenders convicted of crimes against children.

Jason Owens, chief of the US Border Patrol reported via X that the arrests occurred in Eagle Pass, Rio Grande City and Cotulla. All three people had previously been convicted of indecency with a child involving sexual contact. Neither their names nor further information about the convictions were provided.

“They will be set up for prosecution and removal from the US,” Owens wrote.

This latest development comes in the wake of increased concerns over the influx of criminal elements entering the United States amid the ongoing unlawful migration crisis at the southern border.

Despite efforts to alleviate the situation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that there were more than 2.4 million encounters with illegal migrants at the border in 2023. As of March 2024, more than 1.3 million had been registered this year.

In addition to regular updates from Owens on violent offenders, gang members and more that agents encounter at the border, recent reports have also shed light on the disturbing trend of border-related crimes in the US. For example, a group of suspected illegal immigrants was arrested in Baytown earlier this month for possession of child pornography, as reported by Texas Scorecard.

Additionally, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended six unlawful migrants in the Houston area in February as part of a nationwide operation. Three were identified as convicted child predators, while the other three had convictions for sexual assault, aggravated assault with a firearm and sexual battery.

“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the courageous men and women of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Houston field office, we were able to remove six non-citizen sex offenders from the community, including three convicted child predators. The recent operation to arrest and detain dangerous, non-civilian sex offenders living in the Houston area is another example of our commitment to making our communities safer,” said Bret Bradford, Director of ERO Field Office Houston, in a statement announcing the arrests.

In 2023, ERO Houston arrested 7,100 illegal migrants with at least one criminal conviction, along with another 2,427 illegal migrants facing criminal charges.

Nationally, the ERO arrested a total of 73,822 illegal migrants with a criminal background, who collectively faced 290,178 charges and convictions, an average of four per individual. Per ICE, this included 33,209 assault charges, 4,390 sex and sexual assault charges, 7,520 weapons offenses, 1,713 murder charges or convictions, and 1,655 kidnapping offenses.

The Biden administration has called for comprehensive immigration reform and increased funding in hopes of addressing the underlying issues contributing to these recurring incidents in the province.

As previously reported by The Dallas ExpressBiden visited the border in February to highlight his border security agreement. An agreement that, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, is “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades.”

“So this is what I would say to Mr. Trump: Establish a planned policy position rather than telling members of Congress to block this legislation,” Biden said during his border visit in February.

According to a Gallup poll conducted in February, the majority of respondents (55%) said they believe that “large numbers of immigrants entering the United States illegally” pose a “critical threat” to U.S. interests. This was a record share, surpassing the 50% figure recorded in a 2004 poll.