Source: Office of United States Attorneys
LAREDO, Texas – Two U.S. citizens have been ordered to federal prison for attempting to bring a 7-year-old Mexican minor into the United States for personal financial gain, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Sisters Naidelyn Yuliana Vielma Jimenez, 22, Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Bianca Jackeline Vielma Jimenez, 23, Laredo, pleaded guilty Sept. 17 and Oct. 17, 2024, respectively.
U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña has now imposed a 36-month-term of imprisonment for both sisters to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release.
On July 9, 2024, both women arrived at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge at Laredo along with their 16-year-old sister and a 7-year-old male. At that time, they all purported to be one family unit and that the male was their 15-year-old brother.
They showed authorities a video and photograph allegedly depicting the boy with their family. They also presented a copy of their 15-year-old brother’s documents as additional proof to convince them the child was their brother.
However, law enforcement did not believe the boy was the same one depicted and that the child in the vehicle was much younger. Further investigation revealed that the child was not related to the women.
The two older sisters ultimately admitted they had made an agreement to smuggle the Mexican child into the United States and transport him to San Antonio for a fee of $3,000.
“Prior open border policies have inflicted an incalculable human toll, much of which has unfortunately fallen upon innocent children,” said Ganjei. “The Department of Justice, and, in particular, the Southern District of Texas, will do whatever it takes to destroy the market for the trafficking and smuggling of children. For those who profit off this misery, you will be found and prosecuted.”
Both women were permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future
Customs and Border Protection conducted this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Homero Ramirez prosecuted this case.