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On Sept. 13 the U.S. Department of Justice announced that eight alleged human smugglers were arrested and indicted through an operation by the Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which has been working to alleviate the issues of human smuggling at the border since its creation in June 2021.
“Over a year ago, we launched Joint Task Force Alpha to strengthen our efforts across government to dismantle the most dangerous human smuggling and trafficking networks,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland. “The charges announced today are just the latest example of these efforts’ success. The Justice Department will continue to bring our full resources to bear to combat the human smuggling and trafficking groups that endanger our communities, abuse and exploit migrants and threaten our national security.”
The U.S. Department of Justice released a statement about the arrests, which was complete with photographs of migrants in areas like tight confines of tractor-trailers, the trunk of a car and wooden crates. Allegedly leading the smuggling operation were Erminia Serrano Piedra aka Irma, and Boss Lady, 31. Other defendants include Kevin Daniel Nuber aka Captain, 41; Laura Nuber aka Barbie, 40; Lloyd Bexley, 51; Jeremy Dickens, 45; Katie Ann Garcia aka Guera, 39; Oliveria Piedra-Campuzana, 53; and Pedro Hairo Abrigo, 33.
The arrests were made in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama pursuant to charges previously filed in the South District of Texas (SDTX) and unsealed on Sept. 13. The alleged smugglers were indicted and there was also the forfeiture of $2,299,152.40 and three properties.
According to the indictment, the migrants were transported by the alleged smugglers into and within the U.S. in “deplorable conditions for profit.” The migrants are allegedly citizens of Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia. Reportedly they would pay up to $2,500 per migrant.
The smugglers allegedly had drivers pick up migrants near the southern border to be taken deeper into the U.S. They would be taken to “stash houses” while on the way to locations like Laredo and Austin, Texas. Tactics to hide migrants included hiding in suitcases, crammed into tractor-trailers, stashed in the back of covered beds of pickup trucks, hiding in repurposed water tankers or wooden crates and other various ways. They would often be deprived of ventilation and be put in high temperatures.
“This human smuggling organization operated on an enormous scale, placing a high value on financial profit, while putting migrants’ lives at great risk,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “JTFA will continue to use all means necessary to pursue and dismantle criminal smuggling networks and protect the vulnerable populations they exploit.”
The indictments were brought under the JTFA, which was created by Garland in 2021 in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. The goal is to disrupt and dismantle human smuggling and trafficking networks in the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. There is a focus on networks that endanger, abuse or exploit migrants, as well as those who are involved in organized crime or pose a risk.
“At DHS, countering human smuggling is a moral imperative, a law enforcement priority, and a necessity for our national security,” said Deputy Secretary John K. Tien of the Department of Homeland Security. “It is a central plank of our efforts to address irregular migration across the western hemisphere, and to hold transnational criminal organizations accountable for perpetrating vile and horrific crimes. We are unwavering in our commitment and sending a strong message: if you manipulate and imperil and take advantage of struggling migrants, we are coming for you. This investigation is a perfect example of how we're bringing our agencies and components together to leverage the full force of the federal government to do just that.”
Acting Deputy Director PJ Lechleitner of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that transitional criminal organizations will often use "sophisticated techniques" for smuggling and trafficking. He said Homeland Security Investigation special agents also use a wide variety of law enforcement techniques through ways like eliminating profit incentive, asset seizure and having a solid relationship with law enforcement partners everywhere.
“Today should be a reminder that if you are going to engage in this type of criminal activity, your criminal network is not invisible,” Leichleitner said. “The members of the organization will be exposed, the network will be dismantled, and you will be brought to justice.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner Troy Miller said that human smugglers are criminals who don’t care about human life. He said they lie to make money and convince those vulnerable to give them money-often life savings- for what can end up being an “empty promise.”
“Smugglers regularly abandon migrants in the desert or mountains with no food or water, leaving them for dead,” Miller said. “CBP strives to be flexible, adaptable, and to think outside the box when it comes to disrupting these criminal organizations and protecting migrants from harm.”
U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery of Southern District of Texas added, “No amount of money should be a substitute for human life.”
According to CBP, Border Patrol Agents have had 2.15 million “encounters” with migrants at the southwest border between October 2021 to September 2022. This number exceeds last year’s total of 1.73 million between October 2020 and September 2021.
In a March 31 interview with The Austin Journal, Texas Public Policy Foundation Policy Scholar Selene Rodriguez said that “Human smuggling is the precursor of human trafficking. People who conspire with human smugglers to illegally enter the United States typically incur in thousands of dollars of debt to make the trip. After entering the country illegally, these same people are often forced to pay off that debt through forced labor and sexual exploitation, which is the essence of the modern-day slavery that is human trafficking.”