Border Patrol Arrests MS-13 Member, Sexual Predator Along Arizona Border
A convicted sex offender and a man linked to the MS-13 gang were arrested at the southern border last week, Fox News reported.
“Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents arrested two illegal aliens during separate incidents Wednesday and Thursday and learned that one is an MS-13 gang member and the other is a sex offender,” according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection.
“Wednesday evening, Ajo Station agents arrested a 46-year-old Mexican national, after he illegally entered the U.S. near Lukeville. During processing, agents discovered he was convicted in 2002 of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor in Mesa, Arizona.
“Thursday evening, Nogales Station agents arrested a 24-year-old national of El Salvador. During processing, agents conducting records checks learned that he is a member of the dangerous ‘Mara Salvatrucha’ (MS-13) street gang.”
The MS-13 member had previously been convicted of a felony and had been deported.
The Mexican national had also been removed from the country following a sentence for a 2002 conviction for unlawful sexual contact with a minor.
Now, both face felony charges due to the fact that they were previously removed from the country and tried to re-enter.
MS-13 members and sex offenders are routinely among those apprehended by Customs and Border Protection for trying to enter the United States illegally.
Last month, in a short period, Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley Sector apprehended a number of individuals trying to immigrate illegally who had either gang ties or prior convictions for sexual impropriety.
Two of the men were members of MS-13 and one was a member of the 18th Street gang.
A Mexican national apprehended near the town of Los Ebanso in Texas had served a 41-month sentence for child rape in Tukwila, Washington.
A Salvadorian man, meanwhile, had served three years in prison after he had been convicted of the sexual assault of a child in Aurora, Colorado.
In the case of one of the MS-13 members, it was discovered he had an active arrest warrant for homicide back in his home country.
In this case, the arrest of two individuals — one linked to one of America’s most fearsome gangs, the other convicted of sexual assault — is yet more ammunition for President Donald Trump as he pushes for border wall funding.
The government was in a partial shutdown Sunday because Congress has thus far refused to give the White House the $5 billion in spending that the administration says is necessary to secure the southern border and start building the wall.
“I want to be crystal clear — there will be no additional appropriations to pay for the border wall,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Dec. 13. “It’s done.”
Whether it remains done — particularly with this kind of media attention — remains to be seen.
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