PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Two Mexican nationals who are green-card holders made their initial appearances on smuggling charges in a federal court in El Paso this week, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons announced Friday.

Court documents stated that on June 7, Abraham Romo-Rivera, 39, and Amairani Munoz-Molinar 29, arrived in a vehicle and applied for admission into the U.S. at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry in Downtown El Paso.

Romo-Rivera was allegedly driving the vehicle, which had New Mexico plates and was accompanied by multiple passengers, including Munoz-Molinar.

A criminal complaint alleges that Romo-Rivera and Munoz-Molinar presented the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer with their Lawful Permanent Resident Cards, or green cards, and Romo-Rivera additionally presented identification documents for two other passengers, declaring them to be their son and daughter.

The documents appeared to contain information about other individuals, and the officer noticed that the female passenger attempted to avoid showing her face, at which point the officer referred the vehicle for secondary inspection.

The officer noticed that the photo on the female’s identification document did not match the female, leading her to disclose that she was not the person depicted on the I.D. and was a citizen of Mexico.

Further investigation revealed that Romo-Rivera was allegedly going to be paid $10,000 to smuggle the migrants into the U.S. During a pat-down search, an officer reportedly found a manila envelope with the actual Mexican birth certificates and passports of the two migrants, which stated that the male passenger was a minor.

Romo-Rivera and Munoz-Molinar were arrested and charged with one count of bringing in and harboring aliens. If convicted, they each face up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Van Pelt is prosecuting the case.

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