U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a previously deported sex offender shortly after he re-entered the United States illegally in southern California early Friday morning.

Agents assigned to the El Centro Station observed a man walking northward from the International Border fender at about 2 a.m. He had apparently just crossed the border from Mexico near the Calexico Gran Plaza Outlets, information obtained from U.S. Customs and Border Protection by Breitbart Texas revealed.

The agents questioned the man and determined that he had just entered the United States illegally and took him into custody. He was subsequently transported to the El Centro Border Patrol Station for processing.

After conducting a records check, agents learned that the 48-year-old man from El Salvador had spent two years in a California prison following a conviction for assault to commit rape. The man was deported from the United States following the completion of his two-year prison sentence, officials stated.

The arrest of this previously deported criminal alien, and others like him, confirms the need to secure our nation’s borders. Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on previously deported illegal aliens and sex offenders who either commit crimes across the country or who are captured trying to get back into the country after being deported.

“I am proud of the great work our Border Patrol agents demonstrated in stopping this previously convicted sex offender from further entry into the United States,” Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David S. Kim said in the written statement. “Their actions have kept our communities safe.”

In this one sector alone, Border Patrol agents have arrested thirteen previously convicted sex offenders while they were attempting to re-enter the United States.

The Salvadoran man arrested on Friday now faces criminal prosecution for Re-Entry After Removal as a convicted sex offender.

Lana Shadwick is a contributing writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.