BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Brownsville's international bridges intercepted two women and two men for alleged violations of immigration law.
A United States citizen allegedly attempted to facilitate a Mexican child's entry into the United States without valid entry documents while three Mexican citizens attempted to enter either with fraudulent documents or as imposters.
On Monday, March 11, at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge a 39-year-old female U.S. citizen who resides in Brownsville, Texas and a minor child applied for admission to enter the United States. A CBP officer's primary inspection resulted in both the adult and minor child being referred to CBP secondary for further inspection and review of entry documents presented by the adult. In passport control secondary, CBP officers identified the female minor child as a 10-year-old citizen of El Salvador with no legal documents to enter or reside in the United States.
The second case on Monday occurred at Veterans' International Bridge when a 37-year-old male Mexican citizen who resides in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico applied for admission to enter the United States as a pedestrian. A primary CBP officer referred the male to passport processing for further examination of a U.S. birth certificate he presented as his entry document. In passport secondary, CBP officers used a CBP database and discovered that the birth certificate was an alleged fraudulent document and the man presenting it had been previously deported.
The next two cases involve a male and a female from Chiapas, Mexico who allegedly attempted to enter the United States as imposters at Gateway International Bridge. CBP officers encountered a 29-year-old male Mexican citizen who resides in Minicipio De Sunuapa, Chiapas, Mexico and applied for admission to enter the United States as a pedestrian accompanied by a 34-year-old female from Miguel Aleman, Chiapas, Mexico. A CBP officer at primary inspection referred them both to secondary for further examination after the man and woman presented border crossing cards as entry documents. In secondary, CBP officers used a CBP database and discovered that the visas were not issued to the persons who were presenting them as entry documents. CBP officers also discovered that both adults are Mexican citizens with no legal immigration documents to enter or reside in the United States.
CBP officers took the adults into custody for alleged violations of U.S. Immigration Laws and seized all documents. The 10-year-old child was processed as an unaccompanied alien child and will be placed in the care of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (HHS-ORR).
"Enforcing immigration laws at our nation's borders is a vital part of protecting our country. I commend our officers for their vigilance, their service and integrity as they intercept this alleged child smuggler, these imposters and for the interception of this fraudulent document," said Michael Freeman, CBP port director, Brownsville.