EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A man and a woman are facing federal felony charges for allegedly trying to smuggle two sedated foreign children into the U.S. this week through the Calexico West port of entry in California.
Ernesto Meza Cota and Nadia Meza drove up to the port Tuesday at 9 p.m. in a Toyota Highlander with four children in the back seats. The man asked for admission to the United States presenting a legal permanent resident “green card” and a U.S. passport card for his traveling companion. Court records show he pulled out passport cards for two of the minors and California birth certificates for the other two, who were sleeping. He claimed all were his children.
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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer inspecting the vehicle and its occupants, however, noticed two of the children looked very physically different from the sleeping minors. Records show the officer sent the vehicle to a secondary inspection area, where other CBP officers asked Meza Cota and Meza for additional documentation.