Alien Smuggling

The past couple of days have seen a couple of interesting stories relating to human smuggling and illegal immigrants.

Most recently, a federal grand jury in Arizona indicted a Mexican national on charges that he transported illegal immigrants into the United States, one of whom was left behind and died.^[1] Bolivar Cerbando Morales-Galvez has been charged with 11 counts of human smuggling-related violations.^[2]

The statutes that apply to his behavior are 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(i) for bringing the individuals into the United States at a place other than a designated port of entry, and 8 U.S.C. § 1342(a)(2)(B)(ii) for bringing aliens into the country, who have not received authorization to do so, for private financial gain.

Designated Port of Entry
We have discussed bringing aliens into the country at places other than a designated port of entry here. Because death occurred in the violation of section 1324(a)(1)(A)(i), the defendant can be punished by a fine and/or sentenced to death or life in prison.^[3]

Private Financial Gain
Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii), it is a crime for a person to bring an alien into the country for private financial gain, when he knows that that person has not received official authorization to enter the country.

The punishment for violating section 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii) is a fine and imprisonment for between 3 to 10 years.^[4]

Alien Kidnapping
The other interesting story concerning aliens occurred in Los Angeles. Felipe Mendoza-Granados was sentenced to forty years in prison by US District Court Judge Audrey B. Collins for “stealing illegal aliens from a human smuggling ring and holding those aliens for ransom.”^[5] He was one of five Mexican nationals convicted on federal hostage-taking and weapons charges.^[6] The men sent a “confederate” to Mexico where he would pose as someone who wanted to be smuggled into the United States, and when he and other aliens arrived in the US, he contacted Mendoza and his associates. They then met the smugglers in a supermarket parking lot, and brandishing handguns and baseball bats, abducted the other aliens, stole the smugglers’ van, and then went to the “drop house” where they abducted other aliens there.^[7] The aliens were then taken to another location where they were held for two days and threatened with harm unless the aliens’ relatives paid the balance of the smuggling fees.^[8] The California Highway Patrol ended the scheme when they stopped the stolen van and discovered two of the kidnappers and an illegal alien.^[9] Following the arrests, several of the defendants admitted that they had done this as many as 30 times previously.

---

[1] Mexican Man Indicted on Human Smuggling Charges, Associated Press, Aug. 24, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(B)(iv).
[4] Id. § 1324(a)(2)(B)
[5] United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, News Release: Man Sentenced to 40 years for Abducting Illegal Aliens from “Drop Houses” and Holding Them for Ransom, Aug. 23, 2005, available here.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.