PHOENIX – Authorities said on Tuesday that a woman was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in San Luis for an alleged attempt at child smuggling.
At about 11:30 p.m., on Thursday, Arizona CBP officials at the San Luis Port of Entry saw a 28-year-old woman driving a 2007 Nissan Sentra with two youngsters. The American citizen woman handed the border officials U.S. birth certificates for her two children, ages eight and eleven. The mom and kids were then led for a secondary inspection.
Although the mother claimed the children were her family members, officers discovered during the inspection the children had no relationship with her. Although the birth certificates of the children—who were Mexican citizens—were found to be real, they did not match the children.
Apart from the bogus paperwork, the kids said officials they were given sleep sedatives to help with detection while they were entering the United States.
The woman was caught by police for allegedly breaking U.S. immigration laws and turned over the car.
Chris Leon, regional port director for San Luis, said in a press release: “Our CBP officials stopped this child smuggling effort using their experience and inspectional skills.” “CBP stays dedicated to maintaining our U.S. immigration policies.”