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An illegal immigrant who was nabbed in Arizona by Border Patrol last week is a “child predator” with a conviction for child sex abuse, officials announced.
Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced Border Patrol agents in Douglas, Arizona, arrested a Mexican national and “child predator” with a previous conviction for felony aggravated criminal sex abuse with a victim under 13 years old.
Border Patrol agents have encountered nearly 8,800 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions so far this fiscal year, which began in October. That compares to 15,267 last fiscal year and more than 12,000 in fiscal 2022.
That’s amid more than 1.3 million encounters at the southern border so far this fiscal year, compared to more than 2.4 million last fiscal year.
This image shows a Mexican national arrested by Border Patrol. (Customs and Border Protection)
The illegal immigrant is one of a number of sex offenders who attempted to enter the U.S. via the southern border, where agents are frequently overwhelmed by the numbers they are encountering.
Agents in the Tucson Sector of Arizona encountered a Mexican citizen recently who was convicted in Nevada in 2009 following charges of sexual assault and lewdness with a minor.
Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that a Guatemalan illegal immigrant now charged in Florida with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a child had been encountered at the border in January but had been released into the U.S. with a court date of 2027.
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Other illegal immigrants are getting past Border Patrol, however. Sources told Fox News last week there have been 175,000 “known getaways,” meaning illegal immigrants who have evaded Border Patrol agents but have been picked up by other forms of surveillance but not apprehended since the fiscal year began in October.
VideoThat means there have been an average of nearly 800 gotaways each day at the border.
Officials have regularly expressed concern about the numbers crossing without being encountered, even though it is a relatively small number compared to the more than 1.3 million migrants encountered this fiscal year.
“That number is a large number, but what’s keeping me up at night is the 140,000 known gotaways,” Owens told CBS News in March, when numbers were lower.
Fox News’ Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter.
