Tip leads to discovery of 14 illegal immigrants in local motel
August 15, 2011 8:24 PM
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ/ Valley Morning Star

BROWNSVILLE — An anonymous tip to federal agents resulted in the discovery of 14 illegal immigrants at a local motel.
Sandra Lorena Rodriguez-Medrano, a Mexican national, is accused of smuggling the illegal immigrants from Mexico into the United States, court documents state.

Rodriguez-Medrano appeared Monday in federal court, where she was charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens. Bond was denied and she was turned over to the U.S. Marshal’s Service. Her detention hearing is scheduled for later this week.

A criminal complaint states that on Aug. 12, U.S. Border Patrols received a tip that Rodriguez-Medrano was using several rooms at the Super 8 Motel, 7051 Padre Island Highway, as a staging area for the illegal immigrants.

According to the anonymous source, Rodriguez-Moreno was paying for the rooms on a daily basis and was also providing food and water to the 14 immigrants.

The federal agents staked out the motel and questioned Rodriguez-Moreno when she pulled into the parking lot and walked into the motel lobby, the complaint states. She was arrested after she found to be “unlawfully present in the United States.â€