Border Patrol Agents Arrest Convicted Sex Offender

Deming, N.M. – Vigilance paid off for U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Deming, New Mexico area yesterday after they arrested a sex offender soon after he entered the United States illegally.

The incident occurred Wednesday evening when agents from Deming were working on Highway 9, near mile marker 87, in Columbus, New Mexico. The agents encountered a male subject identified as 56-year-old Ventura Ramos-Ruiz, from Mexico, who had entered illegally. The subject was placed into custody and transported for processing.

The subject’s biographical and biometric information was submitted into the “Integrated Automated Identification System,” or IAFIS. The system positively identified the subject and revealed that Ramos-Ruiz had a prior conviction from Iowa for sexual assault with intent to commit sexual abuse with-a-child in August 1987. The information also stated that he had been imprisoned for a period of two years. The system further showed that Ramos-Ruiz was arrested for possession with intent to distribute marijuana in November 1999 in Deming, New Mexico. Ramos-Ruiz was also removed from the U.S. on three prior occasions.

Ramos-Ruiz now faces charges for violating his prior order of removal and was remanded to the Luna County Detention Facility pending his prosecution.

This arrest exemplifies the ongoing efforts by the U.S. Border Patrol to maintain vigilance along our southern border in an effort to preserve the safety and well being of the communities we serve.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.