US mom allegedly paid to smuggle children across the border with plans to drop them off at undisclosed location: Report

A couple was recently arrested after they allegedly received money to smuggle two foreign children across the United States border and drop them off at an undisclosed address, according to Border Report.

Laura Aracely Rodriguez, a U.S. citizen and mother, was accused of trafficking two young Mexican children into the country last month. Rodriguez was accompanied by her husband, Cristian Velez Gutierrez, their daughter, and grandchild.

'The lady is driving me to be reunited with my parents.'

After crossing the border, Rodriguez was stopped by Border Patrol agents at a tactical highway checkpoint near Westmoreland, California. When asked for identification, Rodriguez provided her U.S. passport card, and Gutierrez, a legal permanent resident, handed over his green card documentation. The couple told law enforcement officers that they were on their way to a nearby shopping center.

Border Patrol agents also observed two young boys inside the vehicle, which the couple claimed were also their children. However, officers requested a secondary inspection after Gutierrez began stuttering and looking away, Border Report stated.

While conducting a more thorough inspection, the older of the two boys told Border Patrol agents, "The lady is driving me to be reunited with my parents."

When confronted, Rodriguez admitted that the boys were not her children but that she had been paid $6,000 to transport them from Mexicali, Mexico, to an undisclosed address in Indio, California, according to a complaint affidavit reviewed by Border Report. It is not clear who made the request or paid Rodriguez to smuggle the children.

Rodriguez stated that she used her children's identity documents to get the two boys across the border into California. Because the children were asleep at the time they reached the port of entry, they were not questioned by Border Patrol agents.

Gutierrez reportedly admitted to law enforcement agents that he was aware that the boys were not legally allowed to enter the U.S. He stated that he joined his wife on the journey "so that she would not be alone," according to the court records.

The couple was arrested, and Rodriguez entered a not-guilty plea on August 1. Their underage daughter was released from custody.

According to Office of Refugee Resettlement records obtained by Border Report, the older boy was released to "a parent or guardian" in the U.S. to serve as a witness in the case.

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