US federal immigration officer charged with harboring undocumented person

A federal immigration supervisor who allegedly lived with his undocumented girlfriend has been charged with harboring an undocumented person, Texas federal prosecutors said on Wednesday.Andres Wilkinson’s alleged “romantic relationship” with this woman caught the eye of authorities last spring. Authorities later received information “indicating” the woman was Wilkinson’s niece, according to a criminal complaint.“On April 23, 2025, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) received information from Homeland Security Investigations that Elva Edith Garcia-Vallejo, a nonimmigrant, was residing [redacted] Laredo, TX, without legal authorization,” the complaint alleges. “Additionally, the information indicated that Garcia-Vallejo was living with her boyfriend, Supervisory CBP Officer (SCBPO) Andres Wilkinson, who was aware of her unlawful status in the United States.”On 14 May 2025, CBP’s OPR “received law enforcement database research indicating that Garcia-Vallejo is SCPO Wilkinson’s niece”, it says. Garcia-Vallejo, the complaint states, is the “daughter” of a man whom Wilkinson “listed as … his brother in his 2023 background investigation”.Wilkinson, 52, allegedly gave her financial support, such as “housing, credit cards, assistance with financial obligations and access to vehicle[s] registered in his name”, authorities said. Wilkinson’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on prosecutors’ allegations, nor did Elva Edith Garcia-Vallejo’s lawyer. Court documents indicate he did not yet enter a plea.Wilkinson, who started at US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2001 and was promoted to his leadership role two decades later, counted “overseeing the enforcement of customs and immigration laws” as part of his duties, prosecutors said. Prosecutors claim that Wilkinson also “transported the illegal alien through US border patrol checkpoints”.This complaint alleges that his girlfriend entered the US around August 2023 with a non-immigrant visa, which permitted travel for “pleasure/tourism” to Texas" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="23603" data-entity-type="location">San Antonio, Texas. The expiry of this permit was 4 February 2024.She started living in the US with her husband in Laredo, Texas. He petitioned for her to remain in January 2024 but canceled this request in April 2025.CBP investigators started conducting surveillance on the woman and “observed the illegal alien living there with Wilkinson and her minor child”, prosecutors said. CBP investigators approached the woman in February 2026 and interviewed her.“The woman admitted that she had been living with her uncle, SCBPO Wilkinson, since on or about August 2024,” according to the complaint. The woman alleged that Wilkinson knew she was working with a lawyer to address her immigration status.During a search of documents, authorities allegedly found a May 2025 document in which Wilkinson “confirmed to the Border Region/Behavioral Health Center that Garcia-Vallejo and her daughters had been residing at his home as part of his household since December 7, 2024”.It was not immediately clear from the complaint whether Wilkinson and the woman were related by relatives’ marriage or by blood. It is also unclear whether “uncle” was being used in the informal manner that sometimes signifies a close family-friend relationship.The southern district of Texas prosecutors’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.