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  4. Customs and Border Protection Officers in Southern Texas Discover Fraudulent Passports

Customs and Border Protection Officers in Southern Texas Discover Fraudulent Passports

Release Date
Wed, 05/02/2012

Hidalgo, Texas- U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations at the Hidalgo/Pharr International Bridges arrested two adult males with fraudulent United States passports.

On May 1, a 33-year-old male Mexican national arrived at the Pharr/Reynosa International Bridge and presented an alleged United States passport to the CBP officer. The male traveler was referred to secondary for further document review and it was there that CBP officers discovered that the legitimate U.S. passport had been obtained by fraudulent means. The male traveler was arrested and found to be a citizen and national from Sain Alto, Zacatecas, Mexico without legitimate documents to enter or reside in the United States.

In a separate unrelated incident at the Hidalgo/Reynosa International Bridge CBP officers encountered a male traveler at the pedestrian lanes who also presented an alleged United States passport to the CBP officer. The male traveler was referred to secondary for further document review and CBP officers discovered that the U.S. passport had been altered thus making it fraudulent and not valid. The male traveler, a 26-year-old from Siguatepeque, Comayagua, Honduras was arrested and found not to be in possession of legitimate documents to enter or reside in the United States.

Both male travelers were incarcerated pending appearance before a U.S. Federal magistrate on criminal charges for violations of U.S. immigration law.

"Our officers are trained to detect illegitimate, fraudulent documents and people attempting to enter the U.S. illegally by presenting these documents will get arrested and face prosecution to the fullest extent of the law," said Port Director Efrain Solis Jr.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021