Nogales CBP Officers Take Custody of Ten-Year-Old

Nogales, Ariz. — U.S. Customs and Border Protections officers assigned to the Tucson Field Office stopped an illegal crossing of a juvenile through a southern Arizona port of entry Thursday.

The ten year old boy from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico attempted to enter the United States through a pedestrian lane at the Dennis DeConcini Port, along with a 25-year-old Mexican woman when Customs and Border Protection officers referred them for additional questioning. The juvenile presented crossing documents that identified him as an eight-year-old which appeared fraudulent to the officer. When the pair was separated, the boy told officers that he had travelled to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico with his grandmother and stayed in a local hotel in preparation for the crossing. The juvenile added that he was trying to cross in hopes of joining his mother, who is living in Miami. After contacting the mother and being told she could not come to pick him up, arrangements were made to transfer the youngster to a juvenile facility until he could have a hearing before an Immigration Judge.

The Office of Field Operations is the primary organization within Customs and Border Protection tasked with an anti-terrorism mission at our nation’s ports. CBP officers screen all people, vehicles and goods entering the United States while facilitating the flow of legitimate trade and travel. Their mission also includes carrying out border-related duties, including narcotics interdiction, enforcing immigration and trade laws, and protecting the nation's food supply and agriculture industry from pests and diseases.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control, and protection of our Nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.