The United States’ implementation of more lax immigration policies and weakened border security has attracted an increase of economic migrants to the Southwest border. Criminal aliens have also taken notice and are taking advantage of our vulnerable border.
Last week, Border Patrol agents in the San Diego Sector encountered a 34-year-old Mexican national in the Otay Mountain Wilderness, nearly two miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border in California. The foreign national admitted to unlawfully entering the United States. Upon processing the detained alien, agents discovered he was convicted in October 2017 for lewdness with a child under age 16. A Nevada judge sentenced the man to four years in prison, and he was repatriated to Mexico after completing his sentence.
The same week, agents arrested another illegal alien in East San Diego County. A background check revealed the detained foreign national had been convicted of sexual assault against a child in 2017.
While Border Patrol’s efforts may have prevented these proven criminals from further harming Americans and legal immigrants, these incidents are just a small sample of a growing problem.
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), this encounter signals the 25th arrest of a sex offender in the San Diego Sector alone Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. By comparison, in all of FY 2020, the San Diego Sector arrested a total of 25 illegal alien sex offenders. Just five months into FY 2021, the San Diego Sector has already matched that number, and we haven’t even reached the “busy season” yet. As Andrew R. Arthur of the Center for Immigration Studies noted, illegal entries at the border tend to increase in May and June. So, unbated, this problem appears poised to become much worse.
The southern border already struggles with not having enough immigration agents to patrol for illegal entries. In fact, hundreds of agents from the northern and coastal borders have been reassigned to sectors along the U.S.-Mexico border to assist with the influx of migrants entering the country until at least the end of March. However, it remains to be seen if the reinforcements are nearly enough to quell the crisis at the southern border and leaves our coasts and northern border vulnerable.
Additionally, the Biden administration’s decision to halt construction of a barrier across the southwest has paved the way for human smugglers and other offenders to sneak into the U.S.
President Joe Biden has the ability to protect our borders from criminals and other illegal border crossers. There should be no reason why he shouldn’t prioritize the public safety and national security of American citizens over the interests of immigration lawbreakers.
