HSI St. Louis investigation leads to removal of illegal alien who attempted to give baby away to pay debt to smugglers

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - ICE removed Maria Lidia Valle-Hernandez, a 28-year-old criminal illegal alien from Mexico who tried to fraudulently transfer her newborn baby to another individual because of a debt with smugglers, on May 11.

Valle-Hernandez registered under false name at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lake Saint Louis before giving birth to a child in January 2024. She intended to allow another woman, who was also an illegal alien, to falsely claim the infant as her own. After being discharged from the hospital, Valle-Hernandez gave the other woman her hospital identification wristband, who then presented herself as the mother to hospital staff.

"Human trafficking and smuggling exist everywhere, even in quiet, low-crime communities such as Lake Saint Louis, Missouri," said Homeland Security Investigations St. Louis Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gregory Paris. "This investigation is a great example of HSI and local police working together to disrupt the smuggling and trafficking networks that profit off the vulnerable and use false promises to create a magnet for continued smuggling."

Authorities discovered the scheme when a concerned party reported the scheme to the Lake Saint Louis Police Department. Police contacted the hospital, the Missouri Children's Division and HSI St. Louis.

Investigators determined Valle-Hernandez was the child's birth mother. Despite receiving multiple opportunities to correct her statements, Valle-Hernandez persisted in her false claims until HSI special agents confirmed her identity through fingerprint records.

Valle-Hernandez eventually admitter her actions were motivated by financial hardship and a debt to smugglers, which she hoped to resolve by bringing her other child from Mexico to the United States.

"We appreciate the collaboration with our federal partners to keep our community safe," said Lake Saint Louis Police Chief Chris DiGiuseppi. "Educating law enforcement, medical staff and the public on the indicators of human trafficking will ultimately aid in protecting victims and holding suspects accountable."

U.S. Border Patrol agents caught Valle-Hernandez illegally entering the United States near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, five different times in August 2022, including twice on the same day. She was returned to Mexico each time.

Chesterfield police arrested Valle-Hernandez for fourth-degree domestic assault April 22. The following day, ICE St. Louis lodged an immigration detainer and she was taken into ICE custody.

Valle-Hernandez was removed from the United States following an immigration court order on May 11.

The newborn was taken into protective custody by Missouri Children's Division.