US Border Patrol Agent Sentenced for Smuggling

Eric Balderas who is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent was sentenced to two years in prison for smuggling illegal immigrants, sometimes in his own government vehicle.^[1]

Balderas pleaded guilty in December 2005 to conspiracy to bring in illegal aliens and he was sentenced Thursday July 12.^[2] His plea agreement asserted that he admitted smuggling at least 100 people, and it is alleged that the crimes occurred in the spring of 2005.^[3]

Balderas worked with fellow agent Oscar Antonio Ortiz, who was sentenced last year to five years in prison.^[4] Ortiz, himself an illegal immigrant from Mexico, admitted that he and Balderas took money to transport illegal migrants north from the U.S.-Mexico border, sometimes in their Border Patrol vehicles.^[5]

The two men worked near Tecate, east of San Diego and federal wiretaps indicate they were paid $300 a person for allowing migrants to cross the border; however if the agents drove the immigrants, they allegedly received $1,800 to $2,000 per person.^[6]

U.S. District Judge John Houston ordered that Balderas be immediately placed in custody; he had previously been free on bond. Balderas' federal criminal attorney, Marcus DeBose, did not immediately respond to questions.^[7]

In order to convict a person of the transnational federal crime of bringing in an alien,^[8] 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.^[9]Federal criminal attorney Douglas McNabb has previously discussed the crime of alien smuggling, here.

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^[1] AP Staff, US ex-Border Patrol agent sentenced to 2 years in prison for illegal immigrant smuggling, Associated Press Newswire, July 13, 2007, available at http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/13/america/NA-GEN-US-Border-Patrol-Corruption.php (last visited July 17, 2007).
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.
^[8] 8 U.S.C §1324(a)(1)(A)(i)
^[9] Id.