Human Smuggling—Arrest in Puerto Rico

A US citizen has been arrested in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport by Immigration and Customs Enforcement [hereinafter ICE] special agents for allegedly attempting to smuggle a Dominican boy into the United States.^[1]

Enid Rosario-Montanez gave Customs inspectors a fraudulent US birth certificate in order to smuggle the boy into the country; the inspectors subjected Ms. Rosario-Montanez to a secondary inspection, where she allegedly admitted that she lied to the inspectors.^[2] Allegedly, she was hired and offered $2,000 to bring the boy from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico.^[3]

Ms. Rosario-Montanez is currently in federal custody and the boy has been transferred to Puerto Rican Social Services authorities until he can be returned to the Dominican Republic.^[4]

It is illegal for a person to knowingly bring an alien into the United States at a place other than an official port of entry, regardless of whether the alien has received prior official authorization;^[5] the punishment for doing so is a fine, the potential for life in prison or both.^[6]

It is also a crime for a person, knowing that an alien has not received prior official authorization to enter the United States, to bring that person into the US for the purpose of financial gain.^[7] The punishment for violating this section is a fine, imprisonment for up to 10 years, or both.^[8]

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[1] ICE, Press Release: Woman Arrested by ICE for Attempting to Smuggle Boy Into the U.S., Dec. 9, 2005.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(i).
[6] Id. § 1324(a)(1)(B).
[7] Id. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii).
[8] Id. § 1324(a)(2)(B).