Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector arrested a previously deported MS-13 gang members shortly after he illegally re-entered the U.S. in southern Arizona.

Agents assigned to the Ajo Station came across a Mexican national shortly after he crossed the border illegally near the Lukeville Port of Entry. After arresting the man, agents discovered him to be a member of the hyperviolent MS-13 criminal gang, according to information provided to Breitbart Texas by Border Patrol officials in Tucson.

The agents conducted a background check on the man and identified him as 38-year-old David Lopez-Paz. The records check revealed the previously deported criminal alien has a lengthy criminal and immigration history. Officials stated Lopez-Paz spent more than 100 days in jail on prior criminal and immigration violations.

Agents transferred the man to federal custody where he awaits felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal.

Breitbart Texas has reported extensively on the crimes committed by members of the MS-13 transnational criminal gang. Members of the gang routinely are involved in murders, rapes, extortion, drug smuggling, and other criminal enterprises.

In May, Breitbart Texas reported on MS-13 gang members involved in extorting business owners in the sanctuary jurisdiction of Montgomery County, Maryland.

In late April, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said while visiting Long Island, “The MS-13 motto is kill, rape, and control.” “I have a message to the gangs that are targeting our young people: We are targeting you. We are coming after you.”

The impact of MS-13 on crime in this country has risen dramatically since President Obama allowed and perhaps encouraged the massive influx of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC), particularly from El Salvador, the birthplace of the MS-13 gang. Nearly three years ago, Breitbart Texas Editor-in-Chief Brandon Darby shocked the world by publishing leaked Border Patrol images revealing the true numbers of UAC’s crossing the border, overwhelming Border Patrol agents and other federal agencies tasked with processing and “warehousing” these “children.” El Salvador consistently led in the number of UACs being apprehended, particularly in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

The rise of MS-13 gang violence has also dramatically impacted crime in the nation’s fourth-largest city, Houston, where Governor Greg Abbott announced in April, the creation of a Texas Anti-Gang Task Force to target these criminal aliens.

Breitbart Texas covered the press conference on April 11 of this year in Houston Gov. Abbott announced the expansion of the Texas Anti-Gang Task Force (TAG) and the creation of a technical operations center. Houston is one of the five cities that the FBI has identified to have a large MS-13 presence. In March, two MS-13 gang members appeared in a Harris County courtroom laughing and waving at news cameras after being charged with the kidnapping and rape of one 14-year-old girl, and the kidnapping, rape, and murder of another young girl in Jersey Village, a city within the Houston metropolitan area. The murdered girl was allegedly killed as part of a satanic ritual.

On June 10, Breitbart Texas reported the numbers of UACs, particularly from El Salvador, being apprehended at our southern border with Mexico is again on the rise following a six-month downtrend. Since October 1, 2916, 8005 UACs from El Salvador have been apprehended after crossing the border illegally – 1,493 in May alone. This is nearly a fifty percent increase from the previous month. Almost half of those apprehended this month had crossed in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in south Texas.

Border Patrol agents believe the resurgence can be attributed to the Trump Administration’s quiet continuation of the Obama “catch and release” program, Breitbart Texas reported.

“Obama’s catch and release is definitely continuing and our government is releasing illegal aliens into U.S. communities,” Border Patrol Agent Brandon Judd told Breitbart Texas in his capacity as president of the National Border Patrol Council. “The steps taken for such releases have slightly changed and the numbers are not as high, but it is still occurring. Under Trump, ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is holding more illegal aliens than what they did under Obama, but make no mistake, ICE is still releasing a good number of illegal aliens into U.S. communities. Americans need to know this.”

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.