USBP agents arrest two U.S. citizens for smuggling children

INDIO — U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Centro Sector arrested two United States citizens attempting to smuggle two unaccompanied children illegally in the U.S.

The incident occurred Tuesday when a silver SUV approached the Highway 86 immigration checkpoint near Westmorland, California. The vehicle was driven by a woman, who was accompanied by another woman. Additionally, two girls were asleep in the rear passenger seats.

The driver initially claimed they were traveling from Arizona to California but later admitted to having crossed into the United States from Mexico via the San Luis Port of Entry. After noting discrepancies in the driver’s story, an Indio Station Border Patrol agent assigned to the checkpoint referred the vehicle to secondary inspection.

When agents were reviewing the children’s documents, the agents determined the children’s photos and names did not match those on the identification cards. Agents also learned the children were not related to the driver or passenger, and the driver did not know the children’s mother. Upon questioning, agents discovered the two children, ages 10 and 12, were unaccompanied minors from Mexico.

“And this, folks, is how the trafficking of children starts,” said Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino of the El Centro Sector. “It’s almost unbearable to think about what heinous crimes await children who aren’t with their parents. The border environment has been rife with this type of activity over the past several years; however, the focus has now shifted, and heavy sentences await smugglers who hurt kids.”

Both the driver and the adult passenger are being charged with alien smuggling.

The smuggler’s vehicle was seized as evidence.