Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended 12 sex offenders in March who illegally re-entered the U.S. The previous deportees utilized Central American migrant groups for cover.

Border Patrol officials in the Tucson Sector said that the 12 sex offenders arrested in March all came from Mexico and Honduras. The previously deported criminal aliens attempted their illegal re-entry by hiding within migrant groups crossing the border, according to information obtained from Tucson Sector Border Patrol officials.

“Last month, more than a dozen illegal aliens, who had committed heinous crimes in at least eight U.S. states were arrested by Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents as they tried to sneak back into the country”, Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Roy Villareal said in a written statement. “Were it not for the efforts of our agents, these criminal aliens could have victimized additional U.S. citizens.”

All migrants apprehended by Border Patrol agents undergo a biometric background investigation to search for previous criminal convictions, immigration violations, and gang affiliations.

In these cases, agents found previously deported sex offenders with convictions in California, Arizona, and at least six other states, officials said. These criminal aliens committed their sex crimes mostly against children.

Last week, Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a 48-year-old Mexican national after he illegally crossed the border several miles west of the Mariposa Port of Entry, Breitbart News reported. The agents transported the man to the station where a biometric background investigation identified the man as Gildardo Diaz Arroyo, according to information obtained from U.S. Border Patrol officials. Further investigation revealed that a Phoenix, Arizona, court convicted the Mexican national for sexual assault of a minor in 1998. Another court convicted him of Driving Under the Influence in 2005. Immigration officers removed him from the U.S. following his convictions.

A few days earlier, agents arrested 42-year-old Efrain Guillen-Olivas after he illegally re-entered the U.S. near the Lukeville Port of Entry. Guillen-Olivas’ record includes multiple criminal convictions and deportations. The Mexican national’s criminal record includes convictions for kidnapping, attempted sexual assault, and narcotics violations, officials stated.

Tucson Sector agents also arrested a previously deported criminal alien on March 11 near the Lukeville Port of Entry. The agents identified the man as 31-year-old Juan Aranda-Rameriz, a convicted rapist from Tennessee. The Tennessee court sentenced the Mexican national to two years in state prison. Immigration officers deported him following the completion of his sentence.

Breitbart News reports extensively on previously deported sex offenders and other criminal aliens who are stopped by Border Patrol agents from successfully re-entering the United States.

The previously deported criminal aliens now face possible federal felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal as a convicted felon. If convicted under the 8 USC § 1326 charge, the illegal immigrant could face up to 20 years in federal prison.