C.B.P. News Release

CBP Officers Intercept 10 Individuals in Violation of Immigration Law at Brownsville Port of Entry

(Tuesday, March 30, 2010)

Brownsville, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Brownsville port of entry in a recent six-day period have intercepted 10 individuals for alleged various violations of immigration law.

In the past six days, from March 23 to March 28, CBP officers at the Brownsville port of entry have intercepted a total of 10 persons on various alleged violations of immigration law. CBP officers arrested one man for an allegedly aiding another person to enter the U.S. without proper documentation.

The most notable alleged immigration law enforcement actions occurred on Saturday, March 27. The first case at the Los Indios International Bridge took place when CBP officers stopped a 40-year-old man from allegedly aiding another person to enter the U.S. without proper documentation. The female passenger in question allegedly used the drivers’ daughter’s birth certificate as her entry document. After a secondary examination, CBP officers determined the birth certificate did not belong to the female passenger. In a separate incident at Veterans’ International Bridge, a 29-year-old man was referred to passport processing for verification of citizenship after the traveler allegedly claimed to be a citizen of the United States. While being referred to secondary the man attempted to flee the inspection area but was quickly apprehended and returned to passport processing for verification of citizenship. In secondary, CBP officers’ checks of a CBP database revealed the passenger to be a citizen of Mexico and not a U.S. citizen as he allegedly claimed.

Over the course of the six-day period, CBP officers at the Brownsville port of entry intercepted a total of eight other persons on various alleged violations of immigration law, including five impostors to border crossing cards or laser visas, three allegedly claiming U.S. citizenship and one claim to U.S. citizenship with a document belonging to someone else.

CBP officers seized the documents in all 10 cases. All 10 cases remain under investigation by CBP.

“Training, dedication and knowledge of immigration documents is of vital importance in securing our borders. In a span of six days our officers have stopped these alleged intended immigrants from gaining entry without proper documentation. I applaud our team for an excellent job in keeping our borders safe,â€