Tipsheet

New Year, Same Crisis: Feds Nab Multiple Sex Offenders Illegally Crossing the Border

The crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border has continued on into 2022 and recent examples of who has been arrested after illegally crossing the border show the more sinister side of the national problem.

In the Rio Grande Valley Sector, Border Patrol agents arrested two child sex offenders on January 2:

"On Jan. 2, at approximately 7:00 a.m., McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents arrested three single adult migrants after they illegally entered the United States through Hidalgo, Texas. Criminal records checks obtained at a Border Patrol processing facility revealed a Honduran national who was previously arrested in Pearland, Texas, for Burglary of a Habitation and Indecency with a Child on the same day in 1998. The 41-year-old migrant was convicted and sentenced to 145 days’ confinement.

"On Jan. 2, at approximately 11:00 p.m., MCS agents arrested a group of nine near the Sullivan City Auto Salvage in Sullivan City, Texas. Among them, Luis Felipe Aguilar-Diaz, a Honduran national, was discovered to be a registered sex offender. Aguilar-Diaz was arrested in 2016 by the Dallas Police Department for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a 14-year-old Child. Later that year, the 25-year-old was sentenced to five years’ confinement."

On January 5, McAllen Border Patrol Station agents encountered a group of eight illegal immigrants, including a 7-year-old traveling with her mother near Hidalgo, Texas:

"A Salvadoran national among the group falsely identified himself using an alias, however, criminal records checks revealed his true identity as Rodrigo Ernesto Quinteros-Mercado, a registered sex offender. In 2018, Quinteros-Mercado was arrested in Houston, Texas, for indecency with a child by sexual contact. The 29-year-old man was convicted of the second-degree felony and sentenced to five years’ probation. One year later, Quinteros-Mercado was once again arrested in Houston for stalking and child abuse. Consequently, he was removed from the United States in 2019. Quinteros-Mercado has an outstanding warrant by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office."

In the Tuscon Sector, Chief John Modlin revealed agents arrested "Nestor Ramirez-Zarco...The Mexican citizen and registered sex offender was previously convicted of Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse in #WillCounty, IL."

On January 8, Modlin said agents arrested "Domingo Marquez-Perez, a Mexican citizen, was convicted in #NorthCarolina of taking indecent liberties with children, a felony."

Acting Chief Patrol Agent Carl Landrum, of the Laredo Sector, stated agents arrested "Jose Padilla Yepez, a 54yr. old Mexican national, had an extensive criminal history including burglary, sexual assault, battery, and re-entry after deportation charges" after illegally crossing the border.

El Paso Sector Chief Gloria Chavez said agents from the Santa Teresa Station arrested a child predator from Ecuador, "who was previously convicted of agg. sodomy, child molestation, & rape out of Atlanta, GA! He served 12yrs in prison for these crimes."