Brownsville, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Brownsville port of entry intercepted two individuals for alleged violations of immigration law, including a Honduran citizen who presented a U.S. passport, not in his name and an alleged imposter using a laser visa in an attempted entry to the country.
The first incident occurred on Sunday at Veteran's International Bridge when a 34-year-old male applied for admission to enter the United States as a pedestrian. At primary the male pedestrian presented a duly issued U.S. passport to the primary officer. The officer noted discrepancies with the entry document and referred the subject for a secondary inspection. In secondary, the officers used a CBP database and discovered that the passport was not issued to the person that presented it. CBP officers determined the 34-year-old to be a Honduras citizen from Tegucigalpa, Honduras with no legal immigration documents to enter or reside in the United States.
In the second case also on Sunday, a 34-year-old male applied for admission into the U.S. by presenting a laser visa at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge. A primary CBP officer noted discrepancies to the visa and referred the male pedestrian to CBP secondary for a further examination. In secondary, checks of a national data system revealed the laser visa as being issued to another person and not the male presenting it as an entry document.
In both cases CBP officers seized the documents and the men were taken into custody and charged with immigration violations.
"CBP officers on a daily basis encounter people who allegedly attempt to enter the U.S. by using documents that belong to other people. In an effort to safeguard our border CBP officers are preventing undocumented persons from entering the country, thus keeping our homeland safer," said Michael Freeman, CBP port director, Brownsville.