Cartel-connected human smugglers are selling fake United Nations documents to migrants who want to move freely through Mexico as they travel to the U.S. border.

Federal law enforcement officials in Mexico revealed exclusive details to Breitbart Texas about an investigation targeting document forgers. At a cost of $300 to $500 USD, “guides” or human smugglers offer a fake document packet from the United Nations Refugee Agency and a Mexican ID card. Document dealers promise safe passage and eventual entry in the U.S.

Authorities first learned of the case earlier this year when they intercepted a group of 20 Central American migrants with forged documents at a checkpoint in Galeana, Nuevo Leon.

When Mexican immigration authorities checked the documents, they were able to spot the fakes and asked for Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office to investigate the source. The migrants told authorities that “guides” sold the documents and claimed they were legitimate. The documents falsely present the migrants as refugees under “humanitarian reasons” and should confer legal status to travel through Mexico.

Since that initial discovery, Mexican immigration officials found several groups of migrants with the same documents at checkpoints across the country, prompting the National Immigration Institute to issue an alert about forgeries.

The United Nations issued its own fraud alert, warning migrants that they do not charge for or collect banking information in exchange for documents.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

Gerald “Tony” Aranda is a contributing writer for Breitbart Texas.