A McAllen woman is behind bars after she allegedly tried to smuggle a 14-year-old girl into the United States over the Labor Day weekend.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested Gloria Nelly Luna on an illegal immigrant smuggling charge.
A criminal complaint filed against Luna shows that she drove up to the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge with a 14-year-old girl on Sunday.
Luna allegedly told a customs officer that the girl was her daughter presenting a birth certificate issued by the City of McAllen.
Customs officers learned in secondary inspection that the 14-year-old girl was actually an illegal immigrant from Veracruz, Mexico.
Luna allegedly admitted to the smuggling act as a favor to the girl’s mother.
The 33-year-old woman met the girl’s uncle at a Reynosa hotel and was supposed to deliver the girl to her family in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Luna remains in custody where she is expected to appear before a federal judge in McAllen on Tuesday.
The 14-year-old girl was given to the custody of the Mexican Consulate in McAllen and then handed over to Mexican immigration officials.
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