From October 2014 to February 2015, U.S. border patrol agents have caught 144 foreign sex offenders who have sneaked into the United States. It is up from the 93 apprehended for the same 5-month time frame a year ago.

The sex offenders, whose records have been shared by international police agencies, would go through great lengths to avoid detection and capture, said border agents. Most of them are wanted in their native lands or other countries, reports KRGV.

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The agents shared that a favorite route of the sex offenders is through South Texas brush where they attempt to blend in with big groups of illegal immigrants. In December, an El Salvador woman, who had child sex assault conviction in 2009, was caught illegally entering the U.S. through Dallas County.

In the same month, three Mexicans were apprehended near Harlington. And in February, seven more sex offenders were arrested at the borders of McAllen, Harlingen, Falfurrias and Kingsville.

After a few days, two more Mexicans were snared and last week, the agents caught two Guatemalan men. Fox identified one of the Mexicans as Jose Margarito Rivera-Mendez, 35, who was convicted of a felony in 2003 in North Carolina, specifically indecency with a child. After he served 15-18 month in jail, he was deported in 2005.

To further catch these sex offenders, the agency is using sophisticated software that looks for criminal databases globally. The agency also strengthened its biometric technology that scans fingerprints, retinas and features facial recognition.

Tagsillegal immigrants, sex offender, U.S. Border Patrol