El Paso, TX — A Mexican national is facing a federal immigrant-smuggling charge after allegedly participating in the smuggling of two minors and later attempting to return to the United States to transport the children to Denver, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
Federal authorities identified the defendant as Marco Antonio Dominguez-Barranco, also known as Isaias Salvador Gonzalez Jr.
According to allegations in a criminal complaint affidavit, Dominguez-Barranco presented himself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry using a passport containing his photograph but another person's name and date of birth.
Authorities said Dominguez-Barranco told officers he was looking for his godchildren, prompting suspicion that he was connected to a recent smuggling incident involving two minors.
The affidavit alleges Dominguez-Barranco admitted participating in the smuggling event, returning to Mexico and then attempting to reenter the United States illegally so he could transport the children to Denver.
He has been charged with immigrant smuggling.
The case was among 292 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases filed by federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas between August 7 and August 13.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.