U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested registered sex offender Israel Chaj-Matul, 38, after he illegally re-entered the United States in Sells, Arizona, on October 20, 2020.
Agents patrolling remote trails on the Tohono O’odham Nation arrested a group of 13 illegal immigrants that entered the United States illegally through the desert. The group consisted of men, women and juveniles from Guatemala and Mexico.
While processing the group, agents learned one Guatemalan man Israel Chaj-Matul was a registered sex offender. Records revealed that Israel was arrested in 2015 in Dade County, Florida and found guilty of sexual offenses against a child.
Israel will be federally prosecuted for re-entry of a previously removed felon. The other people encountered in the incident were expelled from the country under Title 42 authority.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol arrested two other previously removed sex offenders, both Mexican nationals, earlier in the week. Both men were presented for criminal prosecution.
All people apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol undergo criminal history checks using biometrics to ensure illegal immigrants with criminal histories are positively identified.
