U.S. Customs Border Protection Officer Busted in smuggling scheme

sandiegouniontribune.com/Kristina Davis reported to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Jose Luis Cota, the unauthorized immigrant women he fingerprinted and processed before their return to Mexico weren’t just detainees — they were potential customers, investigators say.

It’s how Cota met one woman, who ended up tipping off authorities to his offers to help smuggle detainees into the U.S. — information that launched an undercover investigation that led to the border officer’s arrest in September, according to court documents.

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It’s also how he likely met his alleged business partner, Miriam Juarez Herrera, who is accused of driving several unauthorized immigrants through Cota’s lane at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. After her arrest, she told investigators that Cota took his payment in cash bribes and sexual favors, the documents say.

New details about the corruption investigation were revealed in a batch of search warrants unsealed recently in the case, illuminating the genesis of the investigation and how the alleged scheme worked. Read Article