A convicted murderer from Honduras was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol Saturday after he attempted to illegally enter San Diego from Tijuana with other members of the migrant caravan, according to the Homeland Security department.
Last Saturday, Nov. 24, agents caught three people who had just crossed the border one mile east of the San Ysidro port of entry.
The three men — ages 22, 38, and 46 — were taken to a nearby Border Patrol station for processing. One of the men, Miguel Angel Ramirez, told agents he had traveled from his home country of Honduras with the migrant caravan, according to a Customs and Border Protection report on the arrest.
[Read more: DHS: Caravan migrants from 20 countries, include 270 convicted criminals]
While searching Ramirez’s possessions, law enforcement found paper documents that indicated the 46-year-old had recently been released from prison in Honduras.
Ramirez told agents he had been convicted for murder and was let out four months ago.
Agents then contacted the Honduran consulate in Los Angeles to confirm Ramirez’s story. Honduran government officials said Ramirez had served 16 years in prison for murder.
“It was Border Patrol agents’ effort and valued partnership with the Honduran Consulate in Los Angeles that helped us identify a dangerous convicted felon moving among the migrant caravan,” Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rodney Scott said in a statement.
DHS press secretary Tyler Q. Houlton said Ramirez is one of 600 convicted criminals in the 10,000-person caravan.
“The fact that Border Patrol arrested a murderer within the first caravan-related apprehensions at our southern border proves how real the threat of the caravan is to our national security and public safety,” said Houlton.
CBP said the other two men are also Honduran nationals. One of the men had previously been deported following illegal entry.
All three are in custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are expected to be deported.
Last Saturday, border agents based out of the El Centro Sector arrested an active member of the MS-13 gang. CBP said the man admitted to having joined a caravan of migrants in the hopes of reaching the border and crossing into the United States and that he was a member of the gang.
