According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the number of criminal immigrants attempting to enter the United States has skyrocketed in recent years.
More than 13,000 “criminal aliens” attempted to enter the U.S. and were apprehended by Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2024, up from 4,269 in fiscal year 2019.
According to the CBP website, the agency defines an “alien with a criminal record” as “an individual who has been convicted of one or more crimes within or outside the United States prior to apprehension by the U.S. Border Patrol.”
These border apprehensions had been trending downward prior to fiscal year 2021, with CBP recording 8,531 in 2017, 6,698 in 2018, 4,269 in 2019 and 2,438 in 2020. But they have continued to increase since then, reaching 10,763 in 2021, 12,028 in 2022 and 15,267 in 2023, the most recent full year for which data is available.
The suspected illegal immigrant accused of killing Jocelyn Nangaray was wearing an ice ankle monitor.
Migrants are photographed at a U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, on December 7, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Many of the criminal aliens apprehended at the border this year had been convicted of serious offenses, including 814 for assault, battery or domestic violence, 23 for murder or manslaughter, and 168 for sex offenses.
But the data doesn’t include the number of criminal aliens who entered the country unnoticed or were released with unclear criminal records — cases that have once again drawn national attention.
These cases include the arrest of Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez, a 23-year-old Salvadoran immigrant accused of raping and murdering his Maryland mother, Rachel Morin. After facing similar murder charges in his native El Salvador, Martinez Hernandez had attempted to enter the U.S. illegally four times, eluding Border Patrol agents on his last attempt.
In a separate case, two Venezuelan immigrants are accused of the murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray of the Houston area. In that case, the suspects, Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, entered the country illegally and were given a court date and released.
Victor Martinez Hernandez is accused of raping and murdering Rachel Morin on Aug. 5, 2023, in Bel Air, Maryland. (Hartford County Sheriff’s Office/Tulsa Police Department)
The suspected illegal immigrant accused of killing Jocelyn Nangaray was wearing an ice ankle monitor.
Neither suspect has a criminal history in Harris County, but their backgrounds in their native Venezuela are unclear due to a lack of intelligence-sharing cooperation between the Venezuelan and U.S. governments.
The pair then headed to a Houston immigration hotspot, where Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg told Fox News they’ve seen an increase in crimes perpetrated by illegal immigrants.
Franklin Jose Peña Ramos (left) and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel are charged with murdering Jocelyn Nungaray on Monday, June 17, in Houston, Texas. (Harris County Jail)
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“Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of violence by illegal immigrants and a lot of victimization by other illegal immigrants and regular citizens. This is a big problem. This was waiting to happen,” she told Fox News. “This is just like, as an elected prosecutor, just waiting for something bad to happen. I’m just sickened that this little girl became the innocent victim of these two monsters.”
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
