The Justice Department announced that it has charged 14 members of an \u201cextensive alien smuggling organization,\u201d while eight other people were also arrested for smuggling hundreds of illegal migrants into the U.S.<\/p>\n
A grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, returned an indictment against 14 individuals for conspiracy to transport, harbor, and bring illegal aliens into the United States. According to a DOJ press release, eight of those charged were arrested.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s 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,\u201d said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d Bacon continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are committed to eliminating transnational alien smuggling organizations that exploit migrants purely for profit and undermine our national security.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, the defendants were involved in a conspiracy to unlawfully bring undocumented individuals from Mexico into the United States via the southern border. The indictment claims that the defendants also facilitated the transportation of these individuals within the U.S. and concealed them in \u201cstash houses\u201d along the route, said the press release.<\/p>\n
In some instances, the defendants allegedly evaded law enforcement by driving at high speeds and advising the undocumented individuals on how to flee from U.S. Border Patrol and bypass checkpoints. The indictment further alleges that one undocumented individual died from heat exposure during a smuggling attempt and was abandoned in the desert, the DOJ added.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuman smuggling organizations threaten our national security and exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, putting their lives at risk and undermining public safety,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for the District of New Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe U.S. Attorney\u2019s 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,\u201d Kastrin continued.<\/p>\n
The arrests come following a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump ordering reversals of nearly all of the Biden-Harris immigration and border policies that essentially created an \u201copen border\u201d situation for most of their four-year term.<\/p>\n