Lead: A 52-year-old supervisory officer with US Customs and Border Protection based in Laredo, Texas, has been criminally charged with harboring an undocumented woman he allegedly lived with and supported. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas filed a complaint after investigators received information in 2025 and conducted surveillance and interviews into the relationship. The filing says the woman entered the United States on a non-immigrant visa and remained beyond its February 4, 2024 expiry; prosecutors allege the officer provided housing, financial support and vehicle access. The officer has not entered a plea; his attorney and the woman’s counsel did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Key Takeaways
- Charge: A supervisory CBP officer, Andres Wilkinson, 52, was charged in Texas federal court with harboring an undocumented person, according to a May 2025 complaint and subsequent filings.
- Allegations of support: Prosecutors say Wilkinson provided housing, credit-card access, help with financial obligations and use of vehicles registered in his name.
- Family ties flagged: Investigators received information in April–May 2025 indicating the woman, identified as Elva Edith Garcia-Vallejo, was the officer’s niece and the daughter of a man Wilkinson listed as his brother in a 2023 background form.
- Timeline: The woman reportedly entered the US around August 2023 on a tourism/non-immigrant visa that expired on February 4, 2024; a petition by her husband in January 2024 was later withdrawn in April 2025.
- Surveillance and interview: CBP Office of Professional Responsibility and Homeland Security Investigations performed database checks, surveillance and a February 2026 interview in which the woman said she had lived with Wilkinson since around August 2024.
- Professional role: Wilkinson began at CBP in 2001 and was promoted to a supervisory leadership role approximately two decades later; his duties included overseeing customs and immigration enforcement.
- Additional allegation: The complaint states prosecutors believe Wilkinson transported the woman through US Border Patrol checkpoints, an allegation that appears in the filing.
Background
The case centers on federal harboring statutes and CBP internal oversight. Harboring an undocumented person is a federal offense when a person knowingly conceals, harbors, or shields someone who lacks legal status. Within CBP, the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) handle internal integrity and criminal referral matters; in this matter OPR received information from HSI in spring 2025 that prompted further inquiry.
Wilkinson has a long tenure with CBP, joining in 2001 and rising to a supervisory role around 2021. Supervisory officers carry responsibilities to enforce immigration laws, and allegations that an officer may have assisted an undocumented relative or partner raise both criminal and administrative concerns, including potential violations of agency policy and federal law. Agencies typically open parallel administrative reviews when criminal complaints are filed against current employees.
Main Event
According to the criminal complaint, OPR was first alerted on April 23, 2025, that a nonimmigrant woman, identified as Elva Edith Garcia-Vallejo, was residing in Laredo without immigration authorization. Subsequent law-enforcement database research on May 14, 2025, reportedly indicated Garcia-Vallejo was the niece of Supervisory CBP Officer Andres Wilkinson; prosecutors note she is the daughter of a man Wilkinson listed as his brother on a 2023 background investigation.
Investigators allege Wilkinson provided material support: housing, financial assistance, credit card access and vehicles registered to him. Court papers also assert he transported the woman through Border Patrol checkpoints. The complaint includes a May 2025 document in which Wilkinson reportedly confirmed to a Border Region Behavioral Health Center that Garcia-Vallejo and her daughters had been part of his household since December 7, 2024.
The complaint recounts that the woman initially entered the US around August 2023 with a tourism-style non-immigrant visa that expired February 4, 2024. She had been living in Laredo with her husband, who filed a petition for her in January 2024 and later withdrew it in April 2025, per the filing. CBP investigators say surveillance showed the woman living at the same address as Wilkinson and her minor child; she was interviewed by investigators in February 2026.
In that interview, the woman allegedly said she had been living with Wilkinson since about August 2024 and that Wilkinson knew she was consulting a lawyer about immigration options. Court records show Wilkinson had not yet entered a plea at the time filings were noted in public records; the Southern District of Texas prosecutors’ office did not immediately comment to reporters.
Analysis & Implications
Legally, the case tests the boundary between a personal relationship and criminal harboring. Harboring statutes require prosecutors to show that the defendant knowingly concealed, harbored, or shielded an undocumented person and that the defendant was aware of the person’s unlawful status. Allegations of providing material support and transportation through checkpoints, if proven, would strengthen a prosecution because they move beyond simple cohabitation to active assistance.
For CBP and DHS, the charges carry reputational and operational implications. An allegation that an enforcement supervisor may have aided someone lacking authorization undermines public trust and could prompt internal disciplinary action, suspension, or decertification procedures even as criminal proceedings move forward. The agency must balance due process for the employee with the need to preserve institutional integrity.
Politically, cases involving immigration officials charged with aiding undocumented people tend to attract attention in debates over border enforcement and agency oversight. Prosecutors’ decision to bring charges signals they believe the available evidence meets the federal threshold to pursue a criminal case. Still, administrative outcomes and potential conviction are distinct processes with different burdens of proof and timelines.
Practically, the details in the complaint reveal common investigative touchpoints: database checks, surveillance, witness interviews and documentary evidence from health or benefit providers. Defendants often challenge factual assertions about knowledge or familial relationships; the distinction between close family friend and blood relative can be material to defenses and public perception.
Comparison & Data
| Event | Date (as in filings) |
|---|---|
| Initial OPR notification from HSI | April 23, 2025 |
| Law-enforcement database research indicating familial tie | May 14, 2025 |
| Document noting household residency since | December 7, 2024 (document dated May 2025) |
| Woman allegedly entered US on non-immigrant visa | Around August 2023 (visa expired 4 Feb 2024) |
| Investigators interviewed the woman | February 2026 |
The timeline above highlights some inconsistent or overlapping dates in the complaint: the woman’s entry in August 2023, an asserted cohabitation date from August 2024, and a household confirmation listing December 7, 2024. Those discrepancies are material to the case because they bear on when alleged assistance began and what the officer may have known at specific times.
Reactions & Quotes
was residing without legal authorization
Criminal complaint / US prosecutors
That short phrase summarizes the allegation that triggered OPR’s review after a referral from HSI. The complaint frames the initial concern in immigration-status terms rather than characterizations of motive or relationship.
living with her boyfriend who was aware of her unlawful status
Criminal complaint / investigators
Prosecutors highlighted material-support allegations in the filing; this clause is cited to explain the basis for a harboring charge rather than to assign guilt before trial.
overseeing the enforcement of customs and immigration laws
Filing — description of Wilkinson’s duties
The filing notes Wilkinson’s enforcement responsibilities to underline the contrast between his official role and the allegations in the complaint.
Unconfirmed
- Family relationship: The complaint states the woman was the officer’s niece and the daughter of a man listed as Wilkinson’s brother on a 2023 form; it is not yet clear whether that relationship is by blood or marriage.
- Start of cohabitation: Filings contain mixed dates (entry Aug 2023; living together since Aug 2024; household record from Dec 7, 2024) and the precise chronology remains to be established in court.
- Transportation allegation: The complaint asserts Wilkinson transported the woman through Border Patrol checkpoints; that claim has not been independently verified outside the charging documents.
Bottom Line
The charges against a long-serving CBP supervisory officer raise both legal and institutional questions: prosecutors allege conduct that, if proven, would move beyond private relationship to criminal assistance. The case underscores how internal oversight, interagency referrals and document traces such as background forms and provider records can produce prosecutable allegations against law-enforcement personnel.
Observers should expect parallel administrative action, heightened media attention, and a contested record in court where dates, family relationships and the officer’s knowledge will be central. For the public, the matter highlights the tension between personal ties and official duties within agencies responsible for immigration enforcement.
Sources
- The Guardian (media report summarizing the criminal complaint and court filings)