Convicted sex offender caught by Border Patrol had already been deported 3 times

Federal authorities say they stopped an illegal alien sex offender with a history of re-entry from getting back into the United States earlier this week.

A Wednesday news release from Customs and Border Protection says that Border Patrol agents at Eagle Pass, Texas, stopped 42-year-old Honduran national Felix Canales-Padilla on Sunday after he tried to get into the United States illegally. When CBP started to process him, a check of his past records showed that he had been convicted of "felony child enticement - sexual contact" in 2001 in Wisconsin and was subsequently deported in 2002.

Records also revealed that he also re-entered the U.S. in 2005 and 2012 and was also deported both times. Since he's a convicted felon, the release explains, the suspect could face up to 20 years in prison for illegal re-entry. CBP says that it does record checks on everyone it apprehends "to ensure those with criminal history are positively identified regardless of their immigration status."

“By stopping dangerous criminals at the border, U.S. Border Patrol agents protect communities throughout the country,” Del Rio Sector chief patrol agent Raul L. Ortiz said in a statement. “Our border enforcement and national security missions are fulfilled when people like this are prevented from reaching the interior of the country and potentially doing more harm.”

The Trump administration has made a priority of punishing illegal re-entry. Justice Department numbers from August show that 72 percent of federal prosecutions against non-citizens were for illegal re-entry in 2018, compared to .3 percent of them for first-time illegal entry. Last month, DOJ reported that this past fiscal year had seen an 8.5 percent increase in felony re-entry prosecutions from the previous fiscal year.

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