Shortly after midnight on Saturday, a Yuma Sector Border Patrol Agent encountered an individual who unlawfully crossed the international border. Records checks showed that the individual had a significant criminal history in the U.S., including conviction for negligent vehicular homicide in the state of California in 2004, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The Mexican man, Modesto Hernandez-Rechiga, had been “convicted of negligent vehicular homicide in California in 2004 and was sentenced to 16 months in prison,” according to CBP. “Hernandez-Rechiga also had several arrests and convictions for driving under the influence and served jail time for those as well.”
While he had been ejected from America in 2005, he was eventually apprehended and deported yet again.
“Hernandez-Rechiga was formally removed from the United States in 2005. He was apprehended again and subsequently deported a second time in 2016 after serving jail time for reentry of a deported alien. For his latest illegal entry, Hernandez-Rechiga will again face charges for reentry of a deported alien, with an enhancement for being an aggravated felon, which could add more jail time to his sentence if convicted,” according to CBP.
Also early on Saturday morning, authorities apprehended a group of six individuals who unlawfully crossed the border. Within that group was Jose Ramos-Lopez, who, according to records checks, had been convicted of sexual battery in the Golden State in 2007 and sentenced to two years of prison time.
However, Ramos-Lopez served half of the sentence and was removed from the country in 2008.
“Ramos-Lopez faces charges for reentry of a deported alien, with an enhancement for the previous felony conviction,” according to CBP.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents have already apprehended 314 criminal aliens so far during the current fiscal year, which began in October 2020, according to CBP.
As the U.S. continues to face an influx of migrants along its southern border, the capture of previously deported criminals serves to highlight the public safety implications of the nation’s border security.