US border agents charged with taking bribes to let in undocumented migrants

Two US border inspectors in Southern California have been charged with taking bribes to allow people to enter the country without showing documents, according to prosecutors.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers Farlis Almonte and Ricardo Rodriguez were charged after investigators found phone evidence showing they had exchanged messages with human traffickers in Mexico and discovered unexplained cash deposits into their bank accounts, according to a criminal complaint unsealed last week.

Prosecutors said the officers waved dozens of vehicles carrying people without documents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, which connects San Diego in the US and Tijuana in Mexico and is one of the world's busiest land border crossings.

The two men were paid thousands of dollars for each vehicle they waved through, prosecutors said.

Rodriguez's lawyer, Michael Hawkins, said the case was still in the "infant stages" and that his client has the presumption of innocence.

"We look forward to working through the current situation," Hawkins said.

It was not immediately clear if Almonte had legal representation.

The investigation into Almonte and Rodriguez started after three migrant smugglers who were arrested last year told federal investigators they had been working with US border inspectors, according to prosecutors.

While Almonte was in custody, investigators allegedly seized nearly $70,000 (€64,000) in cash they believe his romantic partner was trying to move to Tijuana.

Prosecutors wrote in a court filing that Almonte is potentially facing additional charges for money laundering and obstruction of justice, The San Diego Union Tribune reported.

"Any Customs and Border Protection agent who aids or turns a blind eye to smugglers bringing undocumented immigrants into the US is betraying their oath and endangering our national security," Acting US Attorney Andrew Haden told the newspaper.

The charges against Almonte and Rodriguez mark the latest in a series of corruption cases involving CBP personnel in Southern California. Over the past two years, five officers in the San Diego area have faced prosecution for similar offences.