HIDALGO CITY, TX (KVEO NEWS CENTER 23) —  

Custom officers arrested a Valley woman who had attempted to smuggle a one-and-a-half year-old child into the country.

On Thursday, March 14th, a 42 year-old Mexican national woman, from the City of Pharr, entered the pedestrian lane at the Hidalgo/Reynosa port of entry. The woman presented a lawful resident card for herself and a U.S. birth certificate for the infant girl that she claimed was her niece. Both were sent to a secondary inspection and officers reviewed and determined the two were not related and the infant was a Mexican citizen.

The woman was detained and will face criminal charges on alleged violations of U.S. immigration law and the infant was released to a Human Health Services facility .