McAllen, Texas - CBP U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Rio Grande Valley Sector arrested two illegal aliens Monday, who have prior convictions for sex offenses.
The first sex offender was arrested early that morning as part of a group of 15 illegal aliens apprehended near Penitas, Texas. Through the use of state-of-the-art biometric identification technology, Border Patrol agents discovered one of the men in the group had a conviction for criminal sex abuse. Agents learned of the conviction after entering the man's information into the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) database.
IAFIS enables Border Patrol agents to simultaneously search Customs and Border Protection's Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's criminal fingerprint database. This allows agents to rapidly identify individuals with criminal histories by electronically comparing a live-scanned, 10-fingerprint entry against a comprehensive national database of previously captured fingerprints.
In a separate incident near Hidalgo, Texas, agents apprehended a group of 25 illegal aliens. When agents entered the individuals' information into IAFIS they discovered that one of the illegal aliens has a prior conviction for child molestation.
"The outstanding efforts of our agents in apprehending illegal aliens with criminal records, coupled with the technology to properly identify them, has made our communities safer," Chief Patrol Agent Rosendo Hinojosa said. "By working together with other law enforcement agencies to aggressively target illegal activity and take criminals off our streets, we make our nation more secure."
To report suspicious activity, call the Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol Sector's toll-free telephone number at (800) 863-9382.