EDINBURG, Texas — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in South Texas report a series of recent arrests of sex offenders and migrants who they say are affiliated with the notorious Mara Salvatrucha gang, otherwise known as MS-13.
CBP officers working near Roma, Texas, on Thursday arrested a Salvadoran national who admitted to being a MS-13 gang member, according to a CBP news release sent Monday.
President Donald Trump has made a priority of his administration to rid MS-13 gang members from the United States. He has repeatedly called on law enforcement to arrest members of this transnational criminal street gang, which operates in the United States and is tied to killings, drug trafficking and human trafficking.
According to the CBP news release, officers on Thursday working near Roma also arrested a Salvadoran man who entered illegally, and “during processing, record checks revealed a previous arrest by the Baltimore County, Maryland Police Department and charged with a third-degree sex offense of a minor.” The presiding judge sentenced him to three years confinement and suspended his sentence.
And on Sunday, agents working near Robstown, Texas, arrested a Mexican national whose record checks revealed a prior arrest in De Kalb, Illinois, “for sexual assault and battery with a child under the age of five.” The man received a sentence of 180 days confinement with 48 months’ probation, according to the news release.
The agency urges the public “to take a stand against crime in their communities and to help save lives by reporting suspicious activity” by calling 1-800-863-9382.