Police arrest suspects linked to T.J. adoption scam

By Amy Isackson / Border Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 20, 2005 at 9:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 19 years ago.

Federal officials are searching for three children who it is believed were bought in Tijuana and sold in the United States by an illegal adoption ring. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.

Federal officials are searching for three children who it is believed were bought in Tijuana and sold in the United States by an illegal adoption ring. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.

Tijuana police say Jose Garcia was walking in downtown Tijuana with his one and a half year old son in his arms when a couple offered him $5 thousand and a year's rent, in exchange for his child.

Ana Acosta and Jose Almaguer told Garcia his son would be sent to the United States by a couple who ran a child-selling ring.

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Authorities say Garcia flagged down police and had Acosta and Almaguer arrested.

The two said they worked for David Rivera and Sinai Higuera. Rivera is a U.S. citizen and Higuera is a legal permanent resident. Police later detained them at a fast food restaurant in Tijuana.

Authorities believe the couple has sold three Mexican children in the United States. U.S. federal officials are trying to find them. They say they cannot provide details because the investigation is ongoing. Amy Isackson, KPBS news.

Amy Isackson

Amy Isackson was the border reporter at KPBS from 2004 to 2011. She covered breaking news and feature stories on California-Mexico border issues and immigration, for local and national broadcast. Amy got her start in public radio by pitching a series of stories about rural New Zealand - horse dentistry and sheep sheering - to Radio New Zealand's "Country Life" program. She then worked with Peabody Award-winning radio producers Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, to help create the Sonic Memorial, a series of stories on the World Trade Center before, during and after 9/11. Amy's work has been recognized with awards from the Associated Press Television-Radio Association of California and Nevada, the California Chicano News Media Association, and the San Diego Press Club. She won the Sol Price Prize for Responsible Journalism in 2009 from the Society of Professional Journalists for her story about high school students smuggling people and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to venturing into the wonderful world of public radio, Amy worked for Yahoo! Inc. for nearly five years as an editorial surfer, associate producer and broadcast communications manager. She majored in Latin American History at Williams College. She grew up in San Diego and made frequent trips south of the border.

See stories by Amy Isackson