At the Juarez-Lincoln Port of Entry in Laredo, Texas, Customs and Border Protection agents detained multiple migrants who were attempting to pose as American citizens. Those taken into custody earlier this month had birth certificates that did not match their identities.
The first contact occurred on Friday as CBP agents checked bus riders at the Laredo crossing. A 35-year-old woman gave three birth certificates, one for an adult and two for small children, to authorities. The police officers escorted the family of migrants and their children to a separate area for secondary inspection.
Among the people found were a girl of seven years old, two boys of eleven and five months of age, and a lady. Their immigration status was deemed invalid since they were found to be citizens of Mexico.
On the same day, customs and border protection agents inspected 2020 Dodge Ram pickup truck passengers at the Laredo bridge as they arrived at the port. A female U.S. Employment Authorization Card was presented to the police. During the inspection, a male and a female, 48, were in the vehicle. While officers verified the female occupant’s identity, they found that the Employment Authorization Card was not legitimate.
According to the police, the female passenger in the car was a Mexican citizen without the proper documentation to be in the US. For violating immigration restrictions, the individuals were apprehended, and the authorities seized the vehicle.
Officers escorted a bus passenger to a secondary inspection area on Saturday for additional questioning. The 30-year-old man presented authorities with an identification card from the State of Texas to enter the United States. According to CBP, the officers quickly detected the fake ID. The fraudulent document was confiscated, followed by the man’s arrest.
According to data collected by Customs and Border Protection in 2022, fraud infractions at different Texas ports of entry rose. In a news release from September 2022, the most common violations were impersonation, using altered or counterfeit entry documents, making false claims of U.S. citizenship, smuggling children or presenting birth certificates that belonged to someone else, and presenting false information about one’s citizenship.
According to CBP, federal prosecution and possible repercussions like arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment can result from transgressions of immigration laws. Upon completing their criminal proceedings, those convicted of immigration law violations at U.S. ports of entry may also face deportation.
