Brownsville woman jailed in Chinese immigrant case

Monday, January 11, 2010 at 9:49 p.m.


A Brownsville woman and a truck driver from Alabama are behind bars after allegedly trying to smuggle 12 illegal immigrants from China.

Border Patrol agents arrested Stefanie Gonzalez and Jose Hernandez, Jr. on immigrant smuggling charges last week.

Hernandez was driving an 18-wheeler through a Border Patrol checkpoint near Hebbronville on Wednesday.

A criminal complaint shows that an K-9 officer helped agents find 12 illegal immigrants from China hidden in the sleeper area of the big rig.

Hernandez allegedly told Border Patrol agents that a man named Victor Salazar from Brownsville was paying him to transport the immigrants.

The Alabama trucker was supposed to get paid a total of $6,000 dollars to bring the Chinese immigrants to San Antonio.

Gonzalez allegedly told Border Patrol agents that Salazar was paying her $600 dollars to pretend to be Hernandez's niece.

Immigrant Lin Yan told investigators that she swam across the Rio Grande on December 28th.

She told Border Patrol agents that she was trying to get to New York City to make a better life for herself. Her parents paid $15,000 dollars.

An another immigrant identified as Xiang Jin Yang reported swimming across the Rio Grande on the same day.

He was trying to get to Washington DC to earn enough money to have his baby brought to the United States.

Hernandez, Gonzalez, Yan and Yang all appeared before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Diana Saldaña on Friday.

Judge Saldaña granted $75,000 dollar bonds for Hernandez and Gonzalez as well as $25,000 dollar bonds for Yan and Yang.

Hernandez and Gonzalez are expected to appear back in court on January 22nd.

http://www.valleycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=400229