U.S. Border Patrol agents recently arrested two previously convicted sex offenders illegally entering the United States in the Del Rio Sector of Texas, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection press release said.
One of the men, originally from Honduras, was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor in 2018 and sentenced to four years of confinement, the release said. He was previously deported from the U.S. in 2020. The second man, of Mexican origin, was convicted for lewd or lascivious acts with a minor under 14 in 1999, being most recently deported from the U.S. in 2019.
“These arrests highlight the importance of border security and what it means for you,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens said in the release. “Border Patrol agents stand between good people and those who would do them harm. No matter the circumstances, they remain dedicated to keeping criminals like these out of your communities.”
The two sex offenders were arrested on Dec. 21, 2021, shortly after they illegally made their way into the U.S., the release said. The suspects were processed in accordance with agency policy.
Fox News reported that there were 488 criminal convictions for sexual offenses among migrants coming from across the border during fiscal year 2021. This figure is in stark contrast to 156 in fiscal year 2020 and 58 in fiscal year 2019. However, the U.S. border patrol reported 1.6 million migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexican Border during fiscal year 2021, which ended in October of last year, a report by the Pew Research Center said.
A University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW) study released at the end of 2020 showed that in comparison with undocumented immigrants, U.S. residents are twice as likely to commit violent crimes, four times more likely to commit felony crimes and four times more likely to be arrested for property crimes, a UW news release said. Violent crime includes acts of rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault and murder, according to the National Institute of Justice.
“They have a tremendous incentive to avoid criminal wrongdoing,” University of Wisconsin Madison Sociology Professor Michael Light said about undocumented immigrants, according to the UW release. “The greatest fear among undocumented immigrants is getting in legal trouble that leads to deportation.”
