U.S. Border Patrol agents nabbed a dozen illegal immigrants attempting to sneak into the country near Presidio, Texas this week, including a convicted rapist who was already deported once this year.
Big Bend Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a Guatemalan national previously convicted of rape in Indiana and deported in January 2019. The man was part of a group of 12 apprehended Sunday near Presidio, TX. More via @CBPWestTexas: https://t.co/8kde9r16GR pic.twitter.com/At6ni64Pvv
— CBP (@CBP) December 5, 2019
“The apprehensions made by our agents in the desert of West Texas have a direct impact on the safety of the communities in which we live in work,” Big Bend Sector Chief Matthew Hudak said. “They also have a direct impact on the communities in the interior of the United States, this individual previously pleaded guilty to rape and he will not be going back to that community.”
Hudak was referring to Jose Jose Baltazar, a citizen of Guatemala who was convicted of rape in Indiana and deported to his home country in January.
Baltazar was with 11 others who dressed in camouflage for their trek through the rugged west Texas desert last month, but it wasn’t enough to elude the law. CBP agents with the Presidio Station noticed footprints coming from the Rio Grande River bank around 9 p.m. on November 30 and followed them north.
“On Sunday, at approximately 1:45 p.m., Presidio Agents with the assistance of the CBP Alpine Air Unit using helicopter AS350 encountered 12 individuals hiding in caves,” according to CBP. “The individuals were dressed in camouflage and had carpet on the soles of their shoes. The carpet attacked to the shoes is used to help hide footprints while traveling through the desert.”
Obviously, they weren’t on vacation.
“Agents determined the individuals were citizens and nationals of Guatemala and Mexico illegally present in the United States,” CBP reports. “During processing, records checks revealed Jose Jose Baltazar was arrested in 2015 by the Seymour Police Department in Indiana. Baltazar was convicted of rape, a class three felony, in Jackson County, Indiana and he was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
“He was then removed on January 23, 2019, to Guatemala.”
That same fate awaits him at the conclusion of his immigration court hearing and sentencing, CBP reports.
In October alone, CBP arrested nearly 300 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions attempting to illegally enter the U.S., including dozens with convictions for drunken driving, assault, burglary, robbery, drug trafficking and sex offenses.
For fiscal year 2019, the total number of “criminal aliens” arrested by CBP came in at 4,269, which included 299 with convictions for assault, battery or domestic violence, as well as nearly 450 for drugs, according to CBP data.
Leave a Comment
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.