Vigilance Leads Border Patrol Agents to Arrest Felon in West Texas

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

El Paso, Texas — Border Patrol agents arrested a man today after he attempted to illegally enter the United States near Ysleta, Texas and soon discovered that he had an extensive criminal record that included murder and drug trafficking.

On Tuesday, Border Patrol agents from Ysleta, Texas apprehended a 42-year-old male from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic after he and five other illegal aliens were observed crossing the Rio Grande River from Mexico into the U.S. east of the Ysleta port of entry. Agents quickly responded and were able to apprehend the individuals before they made it into the metropolitan El Paso area.

One of the males, later identified as Jesus Ambrosio Lora-Perez from the Dominican Republic, stated that he had legal documents to remain in the United States, though he did not have them in his possession. After further questioning, the subject admitted to being in the United States illegally.

Agents placed the subject under arrest and proceeded to process him through the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System. The system returned an alert that revealed his criminal history that included first degree murder, unlawful activity with a dangerous weapon and cocaine trafficking. A warrant of arrest was issued for him and he was remitted to the El Paso Detention Facility.

Recent statistics in 2008 indicate that more than 12 percent of illegal aliens arrested in the El Paso sector have criminal histories.