HOUSTON, Texas — c
The pair appeared before a United States magistrate on Thursday.
Juan Carrillo, 51 years of age, and Rosa Lidia Carrillo, of Cypress, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of transporting undocumented aliens.
The guilty plea was an admission that the couple illegally transported two illegal aliens from Eagle Pass, Texas, to Houston.
United States Border Patrol agents from the Carrizo Springs station were conducting an immigration check on a Toyota Tundra on Highway 85 in Big Wells, Texas in early November 2015.
Carrizo Springs is a small city about 80 miles northwest of Laredo, and approximately 45 miles north of the Texas-Mexico border.
There were four people in the back seat and the defendant couple were sitting in front seats. Two of these occupants were illegally in the U.S.
Defendant Rosa Carillo had also previously wired $1,500 to an individual in order to have a family member illegally smuggled into the U.S., according to court documents in the case.
The Carillos admitted that they traveled to Eagle Pass to pick up a family member and his friend, and another undocumented individual and were transporting them back to Houston.
The criminal complaint said that Mr. Carrillo “stated he willingly and knowingly accompanied R. Carrillo to pick up [the illegal alien] and his friend, also an undocumented immigrant, from Eagle Pass, TX, from an unknown individual and paid $240 U.S. dollars to have [them] delivered to them.”
The criminal complaint also states that “J. Carrillo stated he knew that both individuals were illegally present in the U.S. and was transporting them further into the U.S.”
The illegal aliens were held as material witnesses in the case.
The defendants remain on bond pending sentencing. They face up to five years in prison and can be fined up to $250,000.
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge. Follow her @LanaShadwick2