DOJ Indicts 14 Members Of ‘Extensive’ Migrant Smuggling Operation
The Justice Department revealed earlier this week that charges have been filed against 14 individuals linked to an "extensive alien smuggling organization." Additionally, eight other suspects were taken into custody for allegedly facilitating the unlawful entry of hundreds of migrants into the U.S.
On February 19, a grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, issued an indictment against 14 people, accusing them of conspiring to transport, harbor, and bring illegal aliens into the country. According to a DOJ press release on Monday, authorities apprehended eight of the accused on February 20 and 21.
“Today’s indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a sophisticated conspiracy to smuggle aliens into and throughout the United States at great danger to the aliens, resulting in the death of one person,” stated Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Bacon further emphasized, “The Justice Department worked with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to dismantle an alien smuggling organization based in Mexico that has allegedly smuggled hundreds of illegal aliens, including unaccompanied children, through New Mexico and South Texas.”
“We are committed to eliminating transnational alien smuggling organizations that exploit migrants purely for profit and undermine our national security,” she added.
The indictment details that the suspects were allegedly engaged in a scheme to illegally transport undocumented individuals from Mexico into the United States through the southern border. The DOJ statement explained that the defendants also coordinated the movement of these individuals inside the U.S. and hid them in “stash houses” along their route.
According to the indictment, some of the accused reportedly evaded law enforcement by driving at excessive speeds and instructing the migrants on how to avoid U.S. Border Patrol and navigate past checkpoints. The DOJ further claimed that one migrant succumbed to heat exposure during an attempted smuggling operation and was abandoned in the desert.
“Human smuggling organizations threaten our national security and exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, putting their lives at risk and undermining public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for the District of New Mexico.
Kastrin added, “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Mexico is committed to continuing to work with our federal, state and local partners to dismantle transnational human smuggling organizations, hold their leaders accountable, and seize the illicit proceeds generated by these exploitative enterprises.”
These arrests follow a series of executive actions signed by President Donald Trump during his early days in office, aimed at reversing nearly all of the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration and border policies, which had effectively created an “open border” situation throughout most of their tenure.
Under the previous administration, estimates suggest that nearly 8 million individuals were detected crossing illegally into the U.S. during Biden-Harris’s term.
“We are appreciative of our brave law enforcement partners for their continued vigilance in investigating and apprehending members of transnational criminal organizations who conspire to undermine our nation’s immigration laws for their profit, with a callous and reckless disregard for the sanctity of life,” stated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) El Paso Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens.
Stevens further noted, “As this case sadly demonstrates, human smuggling is a crime that takes lives and puts the public at risk. ICE HSI is passionately devoted to using its abundant authority to identify, investigate, and arrest criminals who prey on the vulnerabilities of people they treat as human cargo,” per the DOJ press release.
Each suspect faces charges of conspiracy to transport, harbor, and bring illegal aliens into the U.S. If convicted, they could receive a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentencing, considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors, the DOJ stated.