A 36-year-old woman, Sandra Perez, has been handed a three-year federal prison sentence for her involvement in a failed attempt to smuggle two Mexican children into the United States. U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei confirmed the sentencing, which was carried out by U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña. Perez had previously pleaded guilty to the charges on November 19, 2024.
On August 8, 2024, Perez made an attempt to enter the United States by driving an SUV, accompanied by her three minor children who are U.S. citizens and two Mexican children. In an attempt to deceive the authorities, she falsely claimed that the Mexican children were her own, providing Texas birth certificates and Social Security cards belonging to her other children as evidence. When the Mexican children were unable to answer the questions posed by the authorities, Perez eventually admitted that she was trying to bring them to their mother in Fort Worth, fully aware that they did not have legal authorization to enter the country. Furthermore, she confessed to expecting a payment of $5,000 for each child upon successful delivery.
“Smuggling children is absolutely reprehensible,” stated Ganjei. “Who knows what awaited these children had the defendant managed to slip past authorities. Fortunately, law enforcement was able to unravel Perez’s false story and stop her smuggling scheme dead in its tracks.”
Perez will voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility, which will be determined soon, as he has been allowed to remain on bond. The investigation into his case was conducted by Customs and Border Protection, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Homero Ramirez prosecuted the case.
