48 Individuals Indicted for Alleged Participation in Immigrant Trafficking Ring

Forty-eight people were indicted Thursday for allegedly participating in an immigrant trafficking ring. The indictment includes charges for human smuggling and money laundering.^[1]

According to Phoenix Police Lt. Vince Piano, the alleged top leaders of the group brought in as much as $130,000 a week moving people from Naco, Mexico, to its center of operations in Phoenix and then on to locations across the United States.^[2]

Arizona Attorney General, Terry Goddard, was quoted as saying, ''It's not the end of the game, but we believe we have made some very important intelligence directions in the fight against the smugglers.''^[3]

Over the course of the investigation thirteen ''drop houses'' were discovered in Phoenix. These drop houses are where human smugglers hold individuals until they pay for being brought into the country. Once payment is made they are sent to their final destinations. Phoenix, whose proximity to the border has made it one of the nation's busiest smuggling hubs, is estimated to have approximately 1,000 immigrant stash houses.^[4]

Two Cuban immigrants, Jose Luis Suarez-Lemus and Roel Ayala Fernandez, both of whom live in Phoenix, are alleged to have been the ringleaders who paid people in Mexico and Arizona to assist them in the smuggling operation.^[5]

The two are accused of paying recruiters in Mexico to find customers. In addition, it is alleged that they paid off Mexican police for allowing smugglers to stage their crossings and coordinated with trail guides to lead immigrants through the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area in southeast Arizona.^[6]

Once across the border, authorities claim that paid drivers would bring the immigrants by van to Phoenix, and that other drivers were used to watch out for law enforcement vehicles and protect against rival smugglers who would try to force the vans off the road in an attempt to kidnap and extort the individuals being smuggled in.^[7]

According to authorities, after arriving at a drop house, drivers would be paid and then were hired to take the immigrants to spots across the country. Smuggling fees are estimated to average $2,500 per person.^[8]

8 U.S.C. § 1324 criminalizes the bringing in and harboring of certain aliens.^[9] Moreover, §1324(a)(1)(A)(i) states that “it is a crime for any person who, knowing that a person is an alien, brings to or attempts to bring to the United States in any manner whatsoever such person; engages in any conspiracy to commit any of the preceding acts (§1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I)), or aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts (§1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(II)).”^[10]The punishment is calculated for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs and is stated in the statute as:

(i) in the case of a violation of (A)(i) or (v)(I) or in the case of a violation of (A)(ii), (iii), or (iv) in which the offense was done for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, be fined, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both; or

(ii) in the case of a violation of (A)(ii), (iii), (iv), or (v)(II), be fined, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.^[11]

The government has three ways to prove that an alien involved in the alleged violation had not received prior official authorization to enter the United States:

(A) Records of any judicial or administrative proceeding in which that alien’s status was an issue and in which it was determined that the alien had not received prior official authorization to enter the United States.

(B) Official records of the Service or of the Department of State showing that the alien had not received prior official authorization to enter the United States.

(C) Testimony, by an immigration officer having personal knowledge of the facts concerning that alien’s status, that the alien had not received prior official authorization to enter the United States.^[12]

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[1] The Associated Press, Arizona Cops Claim Large Smuggling Ring Busted, CNN.com, Feb. 16th, 2008 (available at http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/15/immigrant.smuggling.ap/index.html).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9]8 U.S.C. § 1324 (2008).
[10]8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(i) (2008).
[11]8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(1)(B) (2008).
[12]8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(B) (2008).