illegal get 30 years for human trafficking deaths of 9 people

[Wolfmoon]

Human Smuggling

http://www.ice.gov/human-smuggling/


Recent News

11/30/2011 McAllen, TX Alien smuggler sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy resulting in the death of 9 smuggled aliens

11/29/2011 Huntsville, AL Florence man sentenced for sex-trafficking of 15-year-old girl

11/29/2011 Houston, TX Houston man, woman pleaded guilty in sex trafficking and alien harboring case

11/23/2011 New York, NY New York immigration attorney pleads guilty to participating in international human smuggling ring

11/22/2011 Miami, FL South Florida woman sentenced for human smuggling

11/22/2011 Phoenix, AZ 2 alien smugglers sentenced to a 17-year combined sentence
read more

 

[Wolfmoon]

House approves levying criminal penalties for human trafficking | Deseret News


The House has given final approval to a bill that creates state criminal penalties for human trafficking and human smuggling.

Both crimes are already against federal law. As passed by the Legislature, HB339 creates a state third-degree felony for human smuggling and second-degree felony for human trafficking for forced labor or sexual exploitation. And both crimes would be aggravated to a first-degree felony if they involved death of a smuggled or trafficked person or if they involved sex crimes or victims held against their will for more than 180 days.

 

[Wolfmoon]

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1111/111130mcallen.htm

November 30, 2011

McAllen, TX

Alien smuggler sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy resulting in the death of 9 smuggled aliens

MCALLEN, Texas — A 43-year-old Mexican national (Meaning a citizen of Mexico) was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on Wednesday for alien smuggling that resulted in the death of nine illegal aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Border Patrol, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Joel Cardenas-Meneses appeared before U.S. District Judge Randy Crane on Nov. 30. Judge Crane sentenced Cardenas-Meneses to 360 months in federal prison for his role in an alien smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the death of nine people who were being smuggled into the United States.

According to court records, on Aug. 9, 2004, ICE HSI and CBP responded to a vehicle accident that occurred near an irrigation canal close to Hidalgo, Texas. At the scene, agents found a vehicle that had fallen into an irrigation canal. Inside the vehicle, agents found seven men and two women inside who had drowned. The subsequent investigation revealed that the nine people were illegal aliens from El Salvador and Honduras.

During the course of the investigation, agents learned that the juvenile driver of the vehicle had been involved with a group of individuals who included Jose Antonio Arispe-Elizondo and Norberto Garza, both 28 and U.S. citizens, residing in McAllen. The investigation further revealed that Cardenas-Meneses was in charge of recruiting individuals from Central America and arranging their transportation to the Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico area.

Once in the Reynosa area, Cardenas-Meneses coordinated smuggling the illegal aliens across the Rio Grande River and into the United States. At that point, Joel Cardenas-Meneses' right-hand man, Jorge Hernandez-Hernandez, 40, hired a group of young men to pick up the illegal aliens and transport them to various stash houses that Hernandez-Hernandez had in northern Edinburg, Texas. From there, Hernandez-Hernandez hired numerous individuals to transport the illegal aliens to Houston.
On the date of the accident, the driver, as instructed, had been driving with his lights off to avoid detection. After making a sharp turn, the vehicle ended up in the canal where the deceased aliens were found.

In August 2006, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Cardenas-Meneses charging him with conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens as well as 11 counts of transporting illegal aliens. At that time he was living in Mexico, but in February 2011, Cardenas-Meneses was arrested in Houston.
The federal jury trial began hearing the case on Sept. 19, 2011. Five days later, the jury found Cardenas-Meneses guilty on all counts.

With the exception of two individuals who remain fugitives, others charged in the indictment have been convicted and sentenced. Arispe-Elizondo and Garza have already been sentenced to 100 and 58 months, respectively. Last year, Hernandez-Hernandez, opted to plead guilty, and was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anibal J. Alaniz and Casey MacDonald, Southern District of Texas prosecuted this case.

 

[waltky]

Coyotes leavin' immigrants to sink or swim...

Mexico: Traffickers abandoning immigrants at sea
Mon April 29, 2013 - Expert: Maritime crossings into the United States have become a "new frontier"; Every month, Mexico's navy says it rescues about 150 stranded immigrants; As part of a scam, officials say, traffickers leave migrants adrift at sea; 35% of Mexicans in recent survey say they would move to the United States

Mexican authorities said Monday that they've spotted a troubling immigration trend: large numbers of migrants abandoned at sea by traffickers. Every month, Mexico's navy says it rescues about 150 stranded migrants, left adrift in overloaded boats off the country's Pacific coast. As part of the scam, officials said in a statement, traffickers tell the migrants that there has been an equipment failure and promise to return but never do. The immigration and maritime authorities said the frequency of that approach -- about 10 or 12 times per month -- inspired them to issue a warning on Monday: "Do not allow yourself to be fooled and put your life at risk by leaving it in the hands of people without scruples whose only goal is obtaining money without caring about the lives of other human beings."

Authorities have long warned of the dangers of illegal border crossings, often focusing on perilous desert treks by land. And in the past five years, maritime border crossings into the United States have become a "new frontier," said David Shirk, a professor of political science at San Diego State University and an expert on Mexico and border security. "It's a reflection of the fact that is has become significantly more difficult to cross the border by land," he said. That means the Border Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard will likely need more resources, he said, "to address not only the illegal activity, but also the different kinds of risks that implies for people who are putting themselves in that situation." "We're likely to see a dramatic increase now in drownings and other kinds of water fatalities and other kinds of danger associated with crossing in the water," he said.

The statement from Mexican authorities on Monday suggests that attempted border crossings by boat are drawing increasing concern. But it isn't a new phenomenon. In 2009, U.S. officials said Mexicans smuggling drugs and migrants into the United States were increasingly turning to the Pacific Ocean for a short sail to the California coast. "We've seen a huge spike in smuggling by water," Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in San Diego, said in 2009. Despite the dangers of border crossings, new figures released by the Pew Research Center on Monday indicate that more than a third of Mexicans surveyed say they would move to the United States if they could.

In a national opinion survey of 1,000 Mexicans conducted last month, more than 60% said they would not move to the United States even if they had the means and opportunity to do so, but a "a sizable minority" of 35% said they would move to the United States if they could. And 20% said they would emigrate without authorization, according to Pew. Immigration is expected to be one of the topics on the table when U.S. President Barack Obama travels to Mexico this week.

Source

 

[editec]

Human trafficers whose operations result in deaths ought to be treated in the same way we treat PIRATES on the open seas.

ALL SLAVERS deserve that treatment, frankly.