see also: in December 2008:   CBP Lists Top 10 Enforcement Events of 2008   CBP Seizes $200K in Undeclared Currency; Arrest 1 at Texas Port   Marfa Sector Agents Apprehend Murder Suspect   San Ysidro Port Modernization Deployment Temporarily Reduces Lanes   Border Patrol Agents Assist in Locating Distressed Individual   CBP Officers Stop Man at Michigan Border Crossing Wanted for Aggravated Sexual Assault   Holiday Surprise; CBP Unwraps 312 Pounds of Khat in December ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers on the web:   Will County Sheriff's Office   Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative

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El Paso, Texas - U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers performing inspections at the El Paso port of entry apprehended a woman wanted by Illinois law enforcement authorities on an outstanding armed and dangerous warrant Monday afternoon.

The apprehension was made without incident shortly after 1 p.m. at the Paso Del Norte crossing when 46-year-old Mary Ann Gibson entered the facility as a pedestrian. As required under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, the woman presented a U.S. passport as her formal entry document. A CBP officer queried the information on the document and received a positive match for a National Crime Information Center warrant out of Will County, Ill. ( Will County Sheriff's Office )

CBP officers confirmed the warrant and placed the woman into custody without incident. She was turned over to the El Paso Police Department and booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility to await extradition to Illinois. She is being held without bond.

“Thorough document reviews by CBP officers at El Paso area ports generate between 25 and 40 fugitive apprehensions every week,” said Ana Hinojosa, CBP director of Field Operations in El Paso. “Every time a CBP officer identifies and apprehends a wanted person, it makes this city and this nation a safer place to live.”

Since January of this year, U.S. citizens returning at an international land border crossing like El Paso must present a passport, pass card, or other Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative compliant document to enter the United States. At this time CBP remains in a transition period so those U.S. citizens who do not have a WHTI document can still legally enter the country by presenting a government issued photo ID and proof of citizenship (birth certificate) to the CBP officer at the port of entry. Full implementation of WHTI requirements will go into effect in June 2009. Additional expanded information on WHTI can be found at the U.S. State Department Web site. ( Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative )

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.