U.S. Border Patrol agents nabbed a convicted sex offender and a felon gang member trying to regain illegal entry into the U.S. along the California border, officials announced.
Agents in the El Centro Sector of the border arrested a gang member around 9:24 p.m. Tuesday night, according to a press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The 44-year-old individual was caught trying to illegally reenter the country and was taken in for an immigration and criminal history screening.
Authorities discovered the migrant is a member of the Sureño gang from Mexico, according to CBP. The man was previously convicted of other crimes while living in the U.S. decades ago, according to CBP. He was charged with felony carjacking in California in 1995 and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was charged with felony possession of a firearm in 2005 and was sent to prison for 32 months, according to CBP.
TOPSHOT – Border Patrol officers keep warch before U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen inaugurates the first completed section of President Trumps 30-foot border wall in the El Centro Sector, at the US Mexico border in Calexico, California on October 26, 2018. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)
Another individual who is a convicted sex offender was apprehended in the El Centro Sector this week as well, according to CBP. (RELATED: Sex Offenders And MS-13 Members Caught After Illegally Crossing The Southern Border)
Agents arrested a 28-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico who was convicted in May of 2012 doe sex with a minor in California. The man was sentenced to one year in prison and five years of probation, according to CBP.
CBP said in fiscal year 2021, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested and/or removed 13 illegal immigrants who were either convicted or wanted for sexual offense charges.
Migrant crossings have surged at the border in recent weeks. CBP encountered more than 100,000 migrants in February alone.
