Ice Storm Thwarts Human Smugglers in Oklahoma

A minivan full of passengers crashed on a slick Oklahoma interstate during a winter storm, killing seven. ^[1] The passengers were illegal immigrants being smuggled to North Carolina from Nogales, Arizona, a federal immigration officer confirmed Tuesday.^[2] The crash happened around 3:50 a.m., when there was bad visibility and freezing rain in the area.^[3] Seven people, including the driver, where killed when the vehicle, a Chevrolet Astro van, struck a patch of ice along Interstate 40 and slid across the center median and smashed into an oncoming tractor-trailer.^[4] Carl Rusnok, a representative for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's office in Dallas confirmed that this was indeed a smuggling vehicle.^[5] Rusnok continued "The question now is whether there is a larger smuggling operation behind this particular vehicle."

Smuggling is a crime in the U.S.^[6], and a person can be charged with several different crimes a few of which are:
- Bringing in an Alien.^[7] The government must prove 1) that the defendant brought or attempted to bring a person who was an alien into the U.S. at a place that is not a designated port of entry; 2) the defendant knew the person was an alien; and 3) the defendant acted with the intent to violate the U.S. immigration laws by assisting that person to enter the U.S. at a time other than designated by immigration officials, or to elude immigration officials.^[8]
- Illegal Transportation.^[9] The government must prove that an 1) alien; was 2) not lawfully in this country; 3) the defendant knew or was in reckless disregard^[10] of the illegal alien; and 4) the defendant knowingly transported the alien with an intent to help him stay in the U.S.^[11]
- Alien Concealment.^[12] the government must prove that an 1) alien; was 2) not lawfully in this country; 3) the defendant knew or was in reckless disregard of the illegal alien; and 4) the defendants conduct facilitated the concealment of the alien for the purposes of avoiding the authorities.^[13]
These crimes can be punishable by a fine, depending on the offense, up to 20 years in prison for each alien.^[14] The statute describes aggravating factors capable of raising the statutory maximum penalty; these must be submitted as additional elements if charged in the indictment. They include whether the offense was done for the purpose of personal gain or commercial advantage,^[15] whether the defendant caused serious bodily injury,^[16] or whether a death resulted.^[17]

In the present case the driver was killed. The alleged perpetrator, had he lived, could have been charged with all three of the crimes listed above. If, however, this is part of a larger smuggling conspiracy^[18] all participants involved could be held liable for the deaths of the immigrants in the van.

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[1] Sean Murphy, Smuggling operation led to death of 7, AP (via Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise), Jan 17, 2007
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] 8 U.S.C. § 1324
[7] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(A)(i)
[8] Id.
[9] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(A)(ii)
[10] Not defined in the code however the 10th circuit has upheld, on a “plain error” standard, the use of an instruction defining reckless indifference as “deliberate indifference to facts which, if considered and weighed in a reasonable manner, indicate the highest probability that the alleged aliens were in fact aliens and were in the U.S. unlawfully.” United States v. Ureste-Hernandez, 968 F.2d 1042, 1046 (10th Cir. 1992).
[11] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(A)(ii)
[12] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(A)(iii)
[13] Id.
[14] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(B)(i)
[15] Id.
[16] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(B)(iii)
[17] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(B)(iv)
[18] 18 U.S.C. § 371