Border Patrol agents in California this week busted an illegal immigrant child sex offender in California who officials said had previously carried guns in schools – the latest example of dangerous criminals entering the U.S. illegally.
The unnamed Mexican man’s arrest was announced by El Centro Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino.
Bovino said in a statement that the man was arrested in the U.S. illegally and had a “troubling history.”
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This undated photo shows a Mexican national arrested by Border Patrol in El Centro Sector.
“He’s a convicted sex offender against children & has been known to carry firearms in public schools,” he said.
He added that the community of Fresno in California “no longer has to worry about this threat.”
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So far, there have been over 8,700 arrests of criminal noncitizens this fiscal year, compared to more than 15,000 in fiscal 2023 and more than 12,000 in fiscal 2022. Among them this year were 119 sex offenders. There has been continued concern among some law enforcement and lawmakers that the ongoing crisis at the southern border has led to more criminals attempting to enter, including sneaking past Border Patrol agents as “gotaways.”
Meanwhile, there were 189,372 encounters at the border in March, slightly lower than the same time last year.
While it was the lowest March for encounters under the Biden administration, CBP records show the first six months of fiscal 2024 had 1,340,801 total encounters, exceeding the first six months of fiscal 2023, which set a record of 1,226,254 total encounters.
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“CBP – in coordination with our partners across the Federal government as well as foreign partners – continues to take significant actions to disrupt criminal networks amidst unprecedented hemispheric migration activity,” Acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement. “Encounters at our southern border are lower right now, but we remain prepared for changes, continually managing operations to respond to ever-shifting transnational criminal activities and migration patterns.”
Meanwhile, Republicans have blamed the Biden administration for the crisis. This week, Republicans in the House will deliver articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate – U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a DHS law enforcement agency.
Fox News’ Stephany Price contributed to this report.