U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge arrested a man who allegedly attempted to smuggle two Mexican children into the U.S. using fake documentation, according to a news release.
On Saturday, officers encountered a 50-year-old U.S. man accompanied by two minor females traveling from Mexico on foot, the release said.
The man stated the girls were his cousins and presented U.S. birth certificates for both but during the examination, the officers discovered the documents didn’t belong to the minors and that they were Mexican citizens.
CBP officers arrested the man along with the minors who were processed as unaccompanied undocumented noncitizens and were subsequently turned over to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.
“Our CBP officers thwarted this alleged smuggling attempt thanks to their experience and excellent interview skills,” Port Director Carlos Rodriguez said.
