A Customs and Border Protection supervisor has been charged over allegations he harbored an undocumented migrant girlfriend that authorities say is also his niece.
Andres Wilkinson, 52, was aware of the woman’s unlawful immigration status “yet maintained a romantic relationship with her,” according to the Department of Justice.
Wilkinson has served with CBP since 2001 and was promoted to a supervisory position in 2021, which involved overseeing the enforcement of customs and immigration laws.
According to a criminal complaint, obtained by The Independent, law enforcement learned the woman and her daughter were residing at Wilkinson’s residence without legal authorization after entering the U.S. on a non-migrant visa in 2023.
In May 2025, the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility received law enforcement database research “indicating” that the woman was Wilkinson’s niece.
Investigators found that the woman was the daughter of a man who Wilkinson had listed as his brother in his 2023 background investigation, court documents stated.
According to the complaint, when she first arrived in the U.S. the woman had been married to another man. However, though the man had filed a green card petition for her in January 2024, the application was withdrawn that April.
From June through November 2025, law enforcement conducted surveillance at Wilkinson’s residence and observed the woman and her child living there.
On February 5 this year, CBP OPR approached and detained the woman in Laredo, Texas. She later “admitted that she had been living with her uncle,” Wilkinson, since August 2024.
Wilkinson had also financially supported her by providing his credit cards, housing, and assistance with her “financial obligations, including medical debt,” and by adding her to his vehicle insurance, the complaint stated.
It also alleges Wilkinson knowingly transported the woman through U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints and to San Antonio. Messages also indicated she and her child resided with him.
If convicted on the charges of “harboring an illegal alien,” Wilkinson faces up to 10 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine, according to the Justice Department.
The Independent has attempted to contact Wilkinson through his listed attorney.
