MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico - A 34-year-old woman, who attempted to smuggle a Dominican minor into the United States by claiming he was her son, faces human smuggling charges today following her arrest here Friday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents.

Jacqueline Cruz, an American citizen who lives in Newark, New Jersey, arrived at the Port of Mayaguez from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Cruz, who traveled from the Dominican Republic on board the Caribbean Express Ferry, was accompanied by two minors she claimed were her children.

A preliminary inspection conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers confirmed that one of the minors traveling with Cruz was, in fact, her daughter, also an American citizen. However, the ICE investigation revealed that the second minor traveling with Cruz was not her son, but a 16-year-old Dominican national she was trying to illegally smuggle into the country.

“ICE and our Department of Homeland Security partners in Puerto Rico are working together to detect and apprehend those who think that they can break the law and get away with it,” said Manuel Oyola Torres, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Puerto Rico. “Those who try to use Puerto Rico as a springboard to smuggle illegal aliens into the continental United States should know that we will find you and ensure that you feel the full weight of the law.”

Cruz was transferred by ICE to the Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Metropolitan Detention Center where she will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service awaiting the outcome of her criminal case.

Cruz' daughter is temporarily under the care of the Puerto Rico Department of Family where she is awaiting reunification with an appropriate caregiver within her family. The 16-year-old Dominican national is under the care of the Consul General of the Dominican Republic where he too awaits family reunification.

This enforcement action was part of the Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan launched by the Department of Homeland Security to secure America's borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, Homeland Security seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. SBI also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement investigations and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside this country.

-- ICE --