A Mexican illegal immigrant who entered the U.S. earlier this year has been convicted of being in possession of child pornography -- including images involving victims as young as three.
Christian Dolores Munoz-De La Rosa, a 24-year-old Mexican national pleaded guilty to transporting and possessing child pornography, the Justice Department announced.
Munoz-De La Rosa admitted to being part of a group of illegal immigrants caught near Carrizo Springs, Texas in June. When he was picked up, authorities examined his phones and discovered the illegal images.
The shocking haul consisted of 116 images of children, some involving children as young as three-years-old.
Munoz-De La Rosa faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced in November. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that the investigation has been conducted by its Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit in collaboration with the U.S. Border Patrol.
Border Patrol agents frequently apprehend illegal immigrants with prior child sex convictions attempting to enter the U.S. Last week, agents in the Rio Grande Valley arrested five convicted sex offenders -- including a Salvadoran MS-13 gang member with prior criminal history for carnal knowledge of a child, a Mexican with a prior conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child, and a Peruvian with a prior conviction for raping a victim who was under 17.
FBI CHIEF SAYS SOUTHERN BORDER PRESENTS ‘SIGNIFICANT SECURITY ISSUES’ WHEN ASKED IF IT IS SECURE
Those arrests came just days after agents in Laredo arrested a Guatemalan national with a prior felony conviction for child molestation. Meanwhile, ICE confirmed last month that a Guatemalan accused of raping a 10-year-old Ohio girl, who then traveled to Indiana for an abortion, is in the U.S. illegally.
Border Patrol has arrested 8,354 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions so far this fiscal year, including 248 convictions for sexual offenses.
While that is a small percentage of the more than 200,000 migrants Border Patrol agents have encountering each month, it does not account for the more than 500,000 migrants who have got past overwhelmed agents.
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The Biden administration has claimed that the border is "secure." However, FBI Director Christopher Wray recently declined to say if he shared that assessment.
"Well, look, I think the border presents significant security issues," Wray told lawmakers. "There's a wide array of criminal threats that we encounter down at the border."