No Passport, No Problem! US Border Protection Officers Took Bribes To Let In Travelers Without Documents

Visitors entering the USA have faced increased scrutiny under the new administration, but perhaps the answer is just a few Benjamins inside your passport? Two US Customs and Border Protection officers have been charged with taking bribes to look the other way and allow undocumented travelers into the United States at a busy Southern California border crossing. Is this the ominous future of travel in the USA?

US Border Protection Officers Took Bribes To Let In Travelers Without Passports

I’ll never forget having to bribe my way out of Kazakhstan in 2012…the corrupt border official declared my visa invalid and wanted cash to let me out of the country at Almaty International Airport.

> Read More: Bribing My Way Out of Kazakhstan

As I flew to Gemrnay on Lufthansa, I remember being so thankful that my own country, the USA, was not a corrupt nation, but a nation of law and order.

Lately, though, we’ve been hearing a lot of eye-racing stories about foreigners being denied entry to the USA on spurious grounds. On the flip side, though, it appears that some agents are taking advantage of the opportunity to try and personally enrich themselves via bribes.

Farlis Almonte and Ricardo Rodriguez manned inspection booths at the San Ysidro Port of Entry near San Diego, California. But US prosecutors caught wind that the officers had agreed to accept money from human traffickers in exchange for letting migrants into the USA without any paperwork. Large cash deposits into their bank accounts could not be explained.

Prosecutors reviewed surveillance footage and found instances of vehicles with multiple passengers pulling up to the checkpoint but only the driver was documented as entering the USA.

According to prosecutors, the investigation began after three arrested migrant smugglers told federal investigators they were working directly with US border inspectors. In the case of Almonte, investigators found $70,000 in cash that his romantic partner was trying to move to Mexico (meaning Almonte may face additional charges for money laundering and obstruction of justice).

Bribes to enter foreign nations are about as old as time itself…look at the biblical story of Rhan the prostitute hiding the Israelite spies in the Hebrew Bible.

I’m thankful the Justice Department is prosecuting these men and hope that DOGE efforts will focus on rooting out the corruption and disgusting customer service at DHS. I have to wonder, though, as the US jumps off an economic cliff, whether more border officials will be willing to accept bribes for entry.

I guess we’ll find out.

image: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visits the U.S. Customs and Border Protection San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego, California on March 16, 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)