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Hidalgo County woman accused of smuggling baby girl
Posted: 08.05.2011 at 6:02 PM
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A Hidalgo County woman is behind bars after being accused of trying to smuggle a 6-month-old girl into the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) customs officers 28-year-old San Juanita Rocha on human smuggling charges on Tuesday.
Court records released on Friday show that Rocha arrived at the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge with her 5-year-old son and a 6-month-old girl.
Rocha claimed she was babysitting the girl but had to take her son to the doctor in Reynosa.
Customs officers learned that the 6-month-old girl was a Mexican national without permission to be in the United States.
Rocha allegedly admitted she was supposed to get paid $200 dollars to bring the girl into the United States.
The Hidalgo County woman appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dorina Ramos in McAllen.
Court records show that Rocha is an American citizen but further information was not available.
Judge Ramos denied bond for Rocha until a Tuesday afternoon hearing.