US mom allegedly paid to smuggle children across the border with plans to drop them off at undisclosed location: Report



A couple was recently arrested after they allegedly received money to smuggle two foreign children across the United States border and drop them off at an undisclosed address, according to Border Report.

Laura Aracely Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen and mother, was accused of trafficking two young Mexican children into the country last month. Rodriguez was accompanied by her husband, Cristian Velez Gutierrez, their daughter, and grandchild.

'The lady is driving me to be reunited with my parents.'

After crossing the border, Rodriguez was stopped by Border Patrol agents at a tactical highway checkpoint near Westmoreland, California. When asked for identification, Rodriguez provided her U.S. passport card, and Gutierrez, a legal permanent resident, handed over his green card documentation. The couple told law enforcement officers that they were on their way to a nearby shopping center.

Border Patrol agents also observed two young boys inside the vehicle, which the couple claimed were also their children. However, officers requested a secondary inspection after Gutierrez began stuttering and looking away, Border Report stated.

While conducting a more thorough inspection, the older of the two boys told Border Patrol agents, "The lady is driving me to be reunited with my parents."

When confronted, Rodriguez admitted that the boys were not her children but that she had been paid $6,000 to transport them from Mexicali, Mexico, to an undisclosed address in Indio, California, according to a complaint affidavit reviewed by Border Report. It is not clear who made the request or paid Rodriguez to smuggle the children.

Rodriguez stated that she used her children's identity documents to get the two boys across the border into California. Because the children were asleep at the time they reached the port of entry, they were not questioned by Border Patrol agents.

Gutierrez reportedly admitted to law enforcement agents that he was aware that the boys were not legally allowed to enter the U.S. He stated that he joined his wife on the journey "so that she would not be alone," according to the court records.

The couple was arrested, and Rodriguez entered a not-guilty plea on August 1. Their underage daughter was released from custody.

According to Office of Refugee Resettlement records obtained by Border Report, the older boy was released to "a parent or guardian" in the U.S. to serve as a witness in the case.

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'Democrats are getting rich': Rep. Banks confronts Biden's HHS secretary about NGOs profiting from child trafficking



United States Representative Jim Banks (R-Indiana) recently confronted Biden's secretary of health and human services, Xavier Becerra, about non-governmental organizations raking in massive profits from human trafficking, including child smuggling, due to the administration's open border crisis.

In a statement to Blaze News, Banks said, "Illegal human traffickers are making billions in profits and Joe Biden is sending their NGO accomplices billions of your tax dollars every year. The Biden border crisis is a racket. Democrat activists and Mexican cartels get rich, American taxpayers get ripped off, and foreign children suffer."

'I think that's shameful, it's sickening.'

During the House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearing on Wednesday, Banks pressed Becerra for details regarding the department's policies concerning unaccompanied minors who have been illegally trafficked across the border.

Joe Biden\u2019s cronies and far-left NGOs are getting rich off of child trafficking and the Biden border crisis. It\u2019s sickening!
— (@)

"Mr. Secretary, the number of children who have come across our southern border on your watch and Joe Biden's watch is estimated at 481,535," Banks told Becerra. "The New York Times says that your department has lost contact with 85,000 minors, and that statistic is over a year old, so undoubtedly it has risen in the past year."

In Banks' comments to Becerra, he referenced a report last year from the New York Times, which was based on testimony provided by HHS whistleblower Tara Lee Rodas, who stated that the department has "lost immediate contact with" hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children who were smuggled into the country illegally.

"Congressional Research Service says that 75 to 80% of unaccompanied children are now traveling with smugglers, and those smugglers have reportedly sold migrants into situations of forced labor or prostitution — forms of human trafficking — in order to recover their costs," Banks continued. "The Coalition Against Trafficking and Women says that 60% of unaccompanied children caught by cartels and exploited are exploited through child pornography and drug trafficking."

Banks asked Becerra whether it was the Biden administration's policy to return unaccompanied minors to their families in their home country or to send them into the United States to so-called sponsors.

Becerra claimed that the administration is following the laws currently in place regarding asylum claims.

"Let me ask this a different way. If a 15-year-old girl came across the border from, say, Guatemala, would we send her back to her family in Guatemala, or would we keep her in the United States?" Banks questioned.

Becerra replied, "If she requested an asylum hearing, we would, by law, be required to offer her a hearing."

Banks further pressed the HHS secretary about how many unaccompanied minors the Biden administration has returned to their families.

"That would not be something I have information on," Becerra responded. "I'm not gonna speculate, but that's something that you can ask the Department of Homeland Security."

"You and I both know the answer to that's zero. Zero children that you've returned back to [their home] country," Banks remarked.

Becerra stated that the department has to "respect what the law says, and the law says you have to provide someone with an adjudication of their claim for asylum."

A recent report from the Free Press found that NGOs are making substantial profits from the administration's open border crisis, particularly from the trafficking of unaccompanied minors.

Three prominent NGOs, including Global Refuge, Southwest Key Programs, and Endeavors, Inc., have massively increased their combined revenue in recent years. In 2019, the three organizations received $597 million compared to $2 billion in 2022. The CEOs at each of the NGOs make over $500,000 per year.

NGOs received generous federal grants to provide services to unaccompanied minors such as pet therapy, music therapy, and "people-plant interaction" or "horticulture therapy."

Banks questioned Becerra about the administration using massive amounts of taxpayer funds to support the NGOs.

"I think the reason that you're doing this, Mr. Secretary, and your boss, Joe Biden, is because Democrats are getting rich off of it," Banks declared.

"The Global Refuge CEO and NGO that you funnel a lot of money to, her salary is $520,000, and it doubled over three years. The former CEO of an NGO called Southwest Key Programs made three and a half million dollars," Banks continued. "The new CEO makes a million. The CEO of Endeavors, who was an Obama administration aide, made $600,000 in 2022. A former Biden transition official who helped you vet political appointees helped Endeavor secure a $520 billion, no-bid contract. These groups are making hundreds of millions of dollars, and now you are asking us to give you $9.3 billion to funnel to more of these NGOs so that your Democrat friends and donors can get even more rich."

"I think that's shameful, it's sickening, and I'm going to do everything I can to fight against it," Banks told Becerra.

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CBP foils alleged child-smuggling attempt involving 50-year-old American man with two minor Mexican girls



U.S. Customs and Border Protection stymied an alleged child smuggling attempt involving an American man with two Mexican girls, according to a CBP press release.

"Our CBP officers thwarted this alleged child smuggling attempt thanks to their experience and excellent interview skills," port director of the Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas port of entry Carlos Rodriguez said.

The apprehension occurred earlier this month when authorities encountered an American citizen with two girls. The man sought to pass the girls off as his cousins, but birth certificates that he provided for the youths were found not to belong to them.

"On October 1, 2022, CBP officers assigned to the Hidalgo International Bridge encountered a male 50-year-old U.S. citizen accompanied by two minor females traveling from Mexico to the U.S. on foot. The man presented the minors as his cousins and presented U.S. birth certificates for them. During the examination, CBP officers discovered that the birth certificates did not belong to the minors, they were not U.S. citizens and they did not possess valid entry documents," the press release noted.

The man was arrested and the children, who were citizens of Mexico, "were processed as unaccompanied undocumented noncitizens and were turned over to the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)," CBP noted.

The incident highlights the importance of policing the U.S. border in order to crackdown on criminal activity like this alleged child smuggling effort.

Border security is a matter of public safety. For example, another CBP press release notes that authorities at the Ysleta border crossing recently arrested a 68-year-old, "man with an outstanding warrant for sex abuse of child continuous – victim under 14." The person was a legal permanent resident coming from Mexico. The warrant was from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office in Texas.

"The individual was arrested by CBP officers and turned over to local authorities pending extradition to the originating agency," according to the press release.

Whistleblower EXPOSES Federally Funded Child Smuggling | The News & Why It Matters | 8/19/2022

Whistleblower EXPOSES Federally Funded Child Smuggling | The News & Why It Matters | 8/19/2022