HIDALGO, Texas— U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Hidalgo International Bridge arrested a woman in an alleged attempt to smuggle three undocumented minors through the Hidalgo International Bridge.
“Our CBP officers thwarted this alleged smuggling attempt thanks to their experience and excellent interviewing skills,” said Port Director Carlos Rodriguez, Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry.
On January 29, 2022, CBP officers assigned to the Hidalgo International Bridge encountered a 22-year-old U.S. citizen woman accompanied by three minor children traveling from Mexico to the U.S. The woman presented one of them as her son and the two others as cousins and presented Ohio U.S. birth certificates for the three of them. During the examination, CBP officers discovered that the birth certificates did not belong to the minors, they were not U.S. citizens, and they did not possess valid entry documents.
CBP OFO arrested the woman for alleged violation of U.S. immigration law. The three minor Mexican citizens were processed as unaccompanied undocumented noncitizens and were turned over to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR).
Visit CBP’s website for more information on the Immigration Inspection Program.
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