Sept. 3 (UPI) — Federal officials reminded the American public on Wednesday that it’s not a crime to carry more than $10,000 on your person — but is a federal offense if it’s not reported when entering the United States or leaving.
Some border crossers recently have learned this lesson the hard way after having tens of thousands of dollars confiscated, federal officials said.
The public warning by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on declared currency was issued after two different people on two separate occasions were found by border agents to each be carrying in bulk tens of thousands of dollars in undeclared U.S. currency totaling more than $107,000.
“Seizures of unreported bulk currency often are proceeds from illicit activity so seizures like these help advance CBP’s border security mission,” Tater Ortiz, the director of the Brownsville Port of Entry in Texas, said in a statement.
According to officials, the first seizure on August 26 took place at Brownsville and Matamoros International Bridge when CBP officers encountered an unidentified 43-year-old male, who was identified to be a U.S. citizen, driving a 2014 Chevrolet vehicle.
It was chosen for a routine outbound inspection but, during a secondary inspection, officers uncovered $36,500 hidden in bulk within the vehicle and $639 on the unnamed male driver.
CBP’s second discovery days later on August 30 at Veterans International Bridge came when officers found $70,013 hidden in a 2019 Chevrolet driven by a 31-year-old female, also an American citizen. She, likewise, had been randomly selected for a routine inspection as she was outbound from the United States.
The two unidentified cash-carrying Americans were arrested by CBP officers, and the unreported money and vehicles were turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for a further investigation into the incidents.
On Wednesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reiterated that a failure to declare more than $10,000 in cash may result in similar legal actions. But it added that exceptions to this rule must involve a “petition for the return of currency seized by CBP officers.”
The petitioner “must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate,” according to CBP officials.
Border agents in the area also uncovered nearly $275,000 in undeclared currency in 2023 at the Matamoros bridge entry by a 41-year-old Mexican citizen residing in Brownsville, Texas.
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