A man and a woman from the Houston area are behind bars in the Rio Grande Valley after they allegedly tried to smuggle two children into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Joe Arthur Gamez and Nancy Lynn Suarez and human smuggling charges on Sunday.
The two arrived at the Roma International Bridge with a 12-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy.
Customs officers allege that the two claimed the the children were United States citizens and showed birth certifcates from Pasadena and Galveston.
Authorities determined that the two children were actually illegal immigrants from Mexico.
Customs officers turned the children over to the custody of their mother at the bridge.
Both Gamez and Suarez allegedly told customs officers they were supposed to get paid $1,000 dollars and tried to smuggle the children as a favor to a friend.
The two are expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby in McAllen on Tuesday morning.
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