Brownsville, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Brownsville port of entry have intercepted 21 individuals for alleged violations of immigration law thus far in the month of October.
The alleged violations of immigration law include the interception of six men and 15 women. These cases include four individuals who allegedly attempted to bring undocumented aliens into the country without proper entry documents.
On Oct. 11, two females, identified as a 23-year-old and a 29-year-old, both U.S. citizens who reside in Brownsville, Texas, arrived at Gateway International Bridge accompanied by a third female identified as a 56-year-old Mexican citizen. The 56-year-old woman provided CBP officers a U.S. passport.
CBP officers noted discrepancies with the entry documents and referred the women to passport secondary for further examination. In secondary, CBP officers utilized a CBP database and determined the U.S. passport presented was not issued to the person being inspected. CBP officers identified the woman as a Mexican citizen from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, with no legal immigration documents to enter or reside in the U.S.
In another significant case at the Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge on Oct. 14, CBP officers came in contact with a male driver identified as a 21-year-old U.S. citizen accompanied by a minor female child as a passenger in the vehicle he was driving. A primary CBP officer's inspection of the birth certificate presented by the male driver for the child resulted in a secondary referral for verification and identification of the travelers.
At secondary, CBP officers' review of the birth certificate presented for the passenger revealed the certificate did not belong to the minor girl. Upon further examination it was determined the child was in fact a Mexican citizen with no legal immigration documents to enter or reside in the U.S.
The next case also occurred on Oct. 14 at Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge when CBP officers identified the driver of a vehicle as a 23-year-old woman, citizen of the U.S. who resides in Brownsville, Texas. A CBP officer' checks of a national data system revealed the birth certificate presented by the passenger as being issued to another person and not the woman allegedly presenting it as her own entry document. CBP officers identified a female passenger as a 48-year-old citizen of Mexico with no legal immigration documents to enter or reside in the U.S. in alleged violations of immigration law.
In the next case, a 36-year-old male applied for admission into the U.S. on Oct. 16 by presenting a Lincoln Visa and a Mexican passport at the Gateway 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 Lincoln Visa as being issued to another person and not the man presenting the document to enter the country.
In all cases, CBP officers seized the border crossing cards, passports and birth certificates presented; the six women and 15 men were taken into custody.
"We enforce the laws of the United States as we secure our borders against terrorists and weapons of terrorism. In doing this important work, we still continue to maintain our traditional enforcement functions and routinely intercept would-be immigrants with no legal documents to enter or reside in the United States. I congratulate our officers for their vigilance as they safeguard our country's borders," said Michael Freeman, CBP port director in Brownsville.