(IMAGN) U.S. Customs and Border Protection temporarily shut down the San Ysidro port of entry in San Diego-Tijuana, to install additional fortifications for the migrant caravan in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on Nov. 19, 2018. The lanes reopened after about three hours.
San Diego, California – Two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers assigned to the San Ysidro Port of Entry are facing federal charges for allegedly accepting bribes to allow vehicles carrying undocumented migrants to enter the United States.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed this week in San Diego federal court, officers Farlis Almonte and Ricardo Rodriguez are accused of accepting cash in exchange for waving through dozens of cars between August 2024 and January 2025. Prosecutors allege the men coordinated with smuggling groups, providing details about their work schedules and booth assignments to facilitate the illegal crossings.
The pair was arrested last week and remain in custody while federal prosecutors appeal a judge’s decision to grant them bail.
Investigators say the case came to light after multiple smugglers arrested during failed crossing attempts revealed that members of their network were working directly with CBP officers. One suspect’s phone allegedly contained a screenshot of a chat with someone identified as “Farli USA,” who was sharing his CBP shift times — a name prosecutors tie to Almonte.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, was linked to several “highly suspect crossings,” in which he either failed to log passengers in a vehicle or processed drivers using fraudulent identification, court documents state.
Both men also reportedly made unusually large cash deposits during the months the scheme was active.
Almonte and Rodriguez face charges including conspiracy to bring in aliens for financial gain and accepting bribes as public officials — offenses that carry significant prison time if convicted.
CBP has not yet issued a public statement on the arrests.
