A United States Customs and Border Protection officer is accused of falsely claiming to be a US citizen when he applied for the job, the Department of Justice said.

According to DOJ officials, Marco Antonio De La Garza Jr., 37, of Hereford, Ariz. was charged with three counts of passport fraud and false statements on his federal law enforcement background application.

The DOJ is claiming that De La Garza knowingly used a fraudulently obtained Texas birth certificate to apply for a United States passport. De La Garza is also accused of using the same birth certificate to claim US citizenship during his background check.It is unknown how US officials were unable to figure out that De La Garza's paperwork was fraudulent.

The charges stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Department of State-Diplomatic Security Service and the Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General. The DOJ claims that De La Garza was actually born in Mexico.

The Associated Press confirmed that he was hired by border patrol in 2012.