by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ
15 Jun 2016
342 comments

MCALLEN, Texas — A Pakistani man who entered the country illegally and tried to cover up the fact that he had travel documents from various countries is fighting the federal charges filed against him by the FBI.
Javaid Muhammad went before U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez on Tuesday morning for an arraignment hearing in connection with the federal indictment filed against him. On June 8, a federal grand jury handed down the document charging him with one count of lying to the FBI during an investigation. Muhammad is set to go on trial in August.

As Breitbart Texas previously reported, Border Patrol agents arrested Muhammad on May 8 after finding him somewhere in South Texas. Once in custody, Muhammad told agents about his journey from Pakistan to Texas. Breitbart Texas consulted with various intelligence officials who stated that the going rate for smuggling an illegal immigrant from the Middle East averages at $50,000 — usually paid up front. The fee covers the journey from the Middle East into Central or South America and then north to the U.S.

However, Muhammad’s exact journey came into question just four days after his arrest when he met with FBI agents who had new information about the man.

As part of the investigation, federal agents had discovered that Muhammad had a resident card form the Republic of Chile and had a passport from Ecuador. When the agents asked him if he had ever visited those countries, Muhammad said he had not. According to the initial criminal complaint filed at the time of his arrest, Muhammad told the agents that he had in fact lied. The man is now fighting the federal charges against him.

In November 2015, Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby and Associate Editor Bob Price reported that five Pakistani men and a man from Afghanistan were captured about 16 miles north of the Arizona/Mexico border. The men were turned over to FBI agents before Border Patrol agents could conduct any kind of extensive interview.

This discovery came just days after Breitbart Texas reported that eight Syrians had been taken into custody as they attempted to cross into Texas at an international bridge in Laredo

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2016/...o-stay-in-u-s/