Two women are expected to face a federal judge on Monday afternoon for their roles in a failed attempt to smuggle two young children into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Jessica Perez-Gomez and Marlen Guillen-Ibarra on immigrant smuggling charges on Wednesday.
The two women drove up from Matamoros at Brownsville's Gateway International Bridge with 2-year-old and 3-year-old children.
Guillen-Ibarra allegedly showed customs officers American birth certificates for the children but authorities determined they were illegal immigrants from Mexico.
Customs officers arrested Perez-Gomez because she was driving and knew that the children were illegal.
Court records show that both admitted to smuggling the children for money.
The two women appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Felix Recio in Brownsville on Friday.
Their citizenship and criminal histories were not immediately available but court records show that Perez-Gomez got a $25,000 unsecured bond while Guillen-Ibarra got a $25,000 cash bond.
The two woman are expected back in Recio's court for a Thursday afternoon hearing.
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