U.S. Border Patrol (BP) agents nabbed 21 convicted sex offenders attempting to enter the country illegally in just over a month; all but one were pedophiles.
Agents operating in the Del Rio Sector caught the offenders. 20 had committed sex offenses against children, with the sole other apprehended illegal immigrant convicted of a sexual assault involving sodomy. The sex offenses against children included rape, enticement, exposure, sexual contact, assault, and lewd and lascivious battery.
In less than two months, Del Rio Sector agents have apprehended 21 convicted sex offenders attempting to enter the country illegally. Due to the hard work and dedication of our agents, these dangerous individuals were not able to enter our country. Great work! #lawenforcementpic.twitter.com/neXHrzbmpt
— Acting Chief Patrol Agent Juan G. Bernal (@USBPChiefDRT) November 26, 2023
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) shared the BP update, reflecting that the apprehensions proved the severity of the ongoing border crisis.
“Great job by U.S. Border Patrol, but this just shows how serious our border crisis is!” said Lesko. “We MUST secure the border NOW.”
21 SEX OFFENDERS CAUGHT AT SOUTHERN BORDER!!!
Great job by U.S. Border Patrol, but this just shows how serious our border crisis is!
These latest apprehensions are part of the trend of serious offenders capitalizing on the effectively open border policy of the Biden administration.
Eagle Pass agents apprehended a group of undocumented migrants and records checks revealed that one of the subjects was a convicted sex offender for Sexual Assault to a minor. Our agents are on patrol day and night working to keep our country safe. #lawenforcement#USBPpic.twitter.com/jMxpDiWjfn
— Acting Chief Patrol Agent Juan G. Bernal (@USBPChiefDRT) September 16, 2023
Arrests like this highlight the importance of border security. If not for the men and women in green, this convicted child sex offender would be in our communities. Outstanding Work! #lawenforcement#USBPpic.twitter.com/mS5IQIsKbX
— Acting Chief Patrol Agent Juan G. Bernal (@USBPChiefDRT) July 7, 2023
While on patrol, Del Rio Station agents apprehended a group of undocumented migrants. Among the group was a registered sex offender. Another great job by our men and women keeping criminals like this off our streets! #LawEnforcement#USBPpic.twitter.com/twCN6yzqZD
— Acting Chief Patrol Agent Juan G. Bernal (@USBPChiefDRT) June 27, 2023
Del Rio Sector agents arrested another sex offender! This criminal was previously removed from the United States due to a conviction of sexual conduct against a child. Great work by our agents keeping threats like this out of our communities. pic.twitter.com/RZlyhGubev
— Acting Chief Patrol Agent Juan G. Bernal (@USBPChiefDRT) April 24, 2023
This week, Eagle Pass agents encountered a sex offender soon after illegally entering the United States. Good work agents, preventing this criminal from endangering the public! pic.twitter.com/ZJits0YQ9y
— Acting Chief Patrol Agent Juan G. Bernal (@USBPChiefDRT) March 28, 2023
In June, Del Rio Sector agents marked the apprehension of their 86th sex offender for the 2023 fiscal year. It is currently the 2024 fiscal year; BP runs its fiscal year from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30.
Agents from the Carrizo Springs station apprehended another convicted sex offender. This marks the 86th sex offender apprehended in Del Rio Sector this fiscal year alone. Our brave men and women patrol day and night ensuring the safety and security of our communities. #USBPpic.twitter.com/msXJwCclSm
— Acting Chief Patrol Agent Juan G. Bernal (@USBPChiefDRT) June 11, 2023
Overall, there have been over 284 illegal immigrants with criminal sexual offense convictions apprehended at the border this past fiscal year. That total marked a slight decline from the past two years: the 2021 fiscal year endured the worst totals at 488 illegal immigrants with criminal sexual offense convictions apprehended, followed by the 2022 fiscal year at 365. The 2018 and 2019 fiscal years were markedly low, with 80 and 58 apprehensions, respectively.
In all, the last fiscal year there were over 2.4 million illegal immigrant encounters along the southern border.
Not counting last month, the first month in the 2024 fiscal year, President Joe Biden’s administration has seen over 6.37 million illegal immigrant encounters along the southern border. October set another record, with nearly 241,000 illegal immigrant encounters compared to the 2023 and 2022 fiscal years, which endured over 231,500 and 164,800 encounters respectively.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
The Tucson Border Sector continues to be a hotspot for illegal immigration.
This past week, the U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent for the Tucson Border Sector, John R. Modlin, posted his weekly review of stats, showing the efforts of the men and women working under him.
Chief Modlin highlighted the following from his border sector that week:
14,300 Apprehensions
300 lbs of Fentanyl
183 Federal Criminal Cases
33 Rescues
15 Human Smuggling Events
7 Narcotics Events
2 Firearms Seized
Week in Review…
– 14,300 Apprehensions – 300 lbs. of Fentanyl – 183 Federal Criminal Cases – 33 Rescues – 15 Human Smuggling Events – 7 Narcotics Events – 2 Firearms Seized #HonorFirstpic.twitter.com/rnfi7kxbWQ
The Tucson Border Sector continues to be one of the nation’s busiest regions, keeping agents on their toes as they seek to restore some semblance of order on the ground. In the first month of Fiscal Year 2024, October, this sector reported over 55,000 encounters of illegal immigrants, which was a 140.8% increase over the previous year’s numbers that month (22,938). Tucson Sector Officials recorded almost 374,000 arrests during the recently completed fiscal year.
These numbers, already significantly high for a sliver of the U.S.-Mexico border, do not represent the number of ‘gotaways’ escaping detection and making their way around the interior of America’s homeland. Nor do these figures fill in another major gap of the border crisis, which is the rampant drug smuggling that occurs all throughout the border – but especially in the Tucson sector. Drug cartels and smugglers occupy the time of border agents with thousands of arrests per day, while running drugs and ‘gotaways’ through other unmanned corridors. These dangerous factors of the porous border continue to haunt law enforcement at all levels as they attempt to do everything they can to protect innocent men, women, and children from harm.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Another major drug smuggling bust occurred near the southern border in Arizona this week.
On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced on the platform “X” that his agents had “interdicted 2 smuggling loads consisting of over 304 lbs. of fentanyl worth over $1.9M.”
According to the CDC, over 150 people die every day from overdoses related to synthetic opioids like #fentanyl.
Yesterday, USBP agents in Nogales and Willcox, AZ interdicted 2 smuggling loads consisting of over 304 lbs. of fentanyl worth over $1.9M.
Chief Owens revealed that the apprehension of the drugs occurred in Nogales and Wilcox.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin added context to the news, sharing the Drug Enforcement Administration’s estimation that “one kilo of fentanyl equals 500,000 potential lethal doses.” Melugin did the math, finding that these latest encounters added up to 138 kilos. He wrote that the “Border Patrol potentially saved a LOT of lives” – possibly 69 million lives from these doses alone.
This is a massive amount of fentanyl seized by Border Patrol *between ports of entry* in a single day:
304 lbs.
For perspective, DEA says one kilo of fentanyl = 500,000 potential lethal doses.
Border officials continue to find record numbers of fentanyl at the border. In the just-completed fiscal year, ending in September, agents apprehended over 27,000 pounds of fentanyl at the border, which was more than the previous two years combined. According to reporting from the Washington Post, the amount of this extremely deadly drug that is seized by law enforcement is only a fraction of the total numbers that are smuggled into the interior of the country.
Arizona leaders are concerned about the proliferation of fentanyl across the border and polluting communities across the state. Earlier this year, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris and other attorneys general about the fentanyl crisis affecting much of the country. After her meeting, Mayes revealed she told the attendees that her office “and our law enforcement partners have seized approximately 7.8 million fentanyl pills.” Mayes added, “We need to throw everything we can at this crisis – new technology at the border, enhanced and strengthened partnerships, and access to more funding. I stand ready to work with anyone committed to solving this crisis so we can save lives and help Arizona families and communities heal.”
Governor Katie Hobbs has also acknowledged the threat that fentanyl and other drugs pose to Arizonans. In September, the governor issued a press release to highlight a meeting she had with law enforcement and other southern Arizona officials. At the time, her office shared that “DPS has seized over 12,200 pounds of drugs” to date in 2023. Hobbs wrote, “My administration has worked tirelessly to support border communities, stem the flow of drugs and human trafficking, and keep our neighborhoods safe.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
A school bus driver in an Arizona town was arrested for alleged smuggling activity.
Last week, the Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, John R. Modlin, posted to “X” that “the Brian A. Terry Station Field Training Unit arrested a U.S. citizen, (who was) caught smuggling migrants inside a bus in Naco, Arizona.”
The Brian A. Terry Station Field Training Unit arrested a U.S. citizen, also a school bus driver, caught smuggling migrants inside a bus in Naco, AZ. Vigilant border camera operators played a crucial role in this apprehension after observing suspected migrants enter the bus. pic.twitter.com/DmfBbCXCQq
Chief Modlin added that “vigilant border camera operators played a crucial role in this apprehension after observing suspected migrants enter the bus.”
American citizens play a significant role in cross-border human and drug trafficking. A CATO Institute study in September 2022 found that “over ninety percent of fentanyl seizures occur at legal crossing points or interior vehicle checkpoints, not on illegal migration routes, so U.S. citizens (who are subject to less scrutiny) when crossing legally are the best smugglers.”
In 2019, the Washington Post reported that “more than sixty percent of people convicted of smuggling in federal courts in recent years have been U.S. citizens, the majority of them with little or no criminal history, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.” The report added that “U.S. citizens are pulled into smuggling through word of mouth and social media”…and that “smugglers have been recruited by relatives, spouses and friends – even their bosses at work – and typically communicate via cellphone with the migrants and their guides in Mexico.”
Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich warned of the dangers posed to American teenagers, who are highly sought-after targets by cartels and smugglers for illegal couriering activities. In a 2022 op-ed for Fox News, the two officials wrote that “drug cartels are now using SnapChat, Instagram, and other social media apps to recruit American teenagers from around the country to transport migrants and drugs from the border,” and that “high-speed pursuits between these teenagers and local law enforcement have become daily events.”
The two officials concluded their piece by sounding the alarm about the reality on the ground, saying, “As law enforcement officials in our state, we can say with full confidence that we have never seen anything like this crisis at the border and how it is affecting everyday Americans in their communities. While many media outlets have declined to show the American public the disturbing images of increasing high-speed pursuits and other border-related devastation here at home, the death and danger they present are very real; lives are at stake.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
The crisis at the southern border continues to wreak havoc on law enforcement and local communities and to invite a growing number of concerns over the security of the nation.
John Modlin, the Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, posted on “X” that border agents based in the Three Points Station had recently “encountered approximately 2,500 migrants near San Miguel, Arizona.”
Over the weekend, agents from the Three Points Station encountered approximately 2,500 migrants near San Miguel, AZ, including a single group of over 1,000 migrants.
Tucson Sector agents continue to work tirelessly addressing the migrant surge across the southwest border. pic.twitter.com/LS7O6vgbYq
Chief Modlin added that there was a group of 1,000 aliens included in the total number for the weekend.
The Tucson Border Sector is one of the nation’s most active when it comes to illegal immigration, with over 373,000 encounters of migrants taking place in the just completed 2023 Fiscal Year. This number represented almost a fifty percent change from Fiscal Year 2022, when officials reported almost 252,000 apprehensions.
Though the encounters, arrests, and processing of these migrants have kept border agents extremely busy throughout the year, these numbers are not all they – or other officials – must worry about. The Tucson Sector has seen a growing number of ‘gotaways’ – migrants who successfully evade arrest and whose identities and motives are largely unknown. This sector is also a significant vein of drug trafficking for smugglers and cartels, who can largely operate without too much opposition when agents are tied up with a record number of apprehensions.
In Fiscal Year 2023, border officials encountered 2,475,669 migrants illegally attempting to cross into the United States across all sectors. This historic number broke the previously set record in 2022 (2,378,944). During President Joe Biden’s tenure in the White House, law enforcement has apprehended 6.2 million migrants at the southern border, as well as 1.7 million reported ‘gotaways.” Included in the number of FY23 apprehensions were the arrests of 169 individuals on the terrorist watchlist – also a top annual number in the history of CBP statistic-keeping.
The Tucson border chief ended his post about the recent apprehension of thousands of migrants over the past weekend, writing, “Tucson Sector agents continue to work tirelessly addressing the migrant surge across the southwest border.”
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
