November 3, 09

NEWS / CBP Officers Have Busy Week Stopping Immigration Violators on Southern Border

El Paso, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at ports of entry in El Paso, West Texas and New Mexico recorded a total of 76 immigration violations during the previous seven days. The group included imposters, intended immigrants and other violators.


“Anti-terror is our primary mission but the thorough inspection process does turn up identity thieves on an almost daily basis,” said Ana Hinojosa, U.S. Customs and Border Protection director of Field Operations in El Paso. “CBP enforcement officers work closely with the U.S. Attorney to federally prosecute those who violate U.S. immigration law.”


During the last week, CBP officers obtained prosecution on 21 individuals. This group included 12 imposters, three alien smugglers, three individuals with counterfeit documents, two people who made false claims to U.S. citizenship and a drug smuggler who had issues with his entry documents.


“Prosecution is usually sought in those cases involving people who have been previously removed from the country, repeat offenders, and those who are involved in other criminal activity while entering the country illegally at a port of entry,” said Hinojosa. “Others voluntarily return to Mexico or are sent back under ‘expedited removal’ proceedings without the documents they presented to a CBP officer. Subsequent violations generally result in felony arrests.”


Imposters generally will use a legitimate entry document assigned to another person and present it as their own. Violators generally lose their documents, can be prosecuted and go to jail and/or are returned to Mexico. Intended immigrants are defined as individuals who use a legally issued border-crossing card (laser visa) to live or work in the U.S., which is not authorized. They also lose their documents and are generally returned to Mexico.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/11022009.xml

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