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http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070330elpaso.htm
March 30, 2007
Fort Bliss soldier convicted on 3 counts of alien smuggling
BEST members arrested 32-year-old along with three other members of conspiracy in October
EL PASO, Texas - A U.S. Army soldier was found guilty here Tuesday of alien smuggling charges, following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST).
El Paso’s BEST team members include ICE, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol; the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas.
Alejandro Javier Lazos Ortiz, 32, a soldier assigned to Fort Bliss, and three other members of an alien smuggling organization, were arrested by BEST members on Oct. 12 for conspiring to smuggle 12 illegal aliens from Mexico. A federal jury March 27 convicted Lazos Ortiz of one count each of conspiracy to harbor aliens, harboring illegal aliens, and inducing/encouraging illegal aliens to reside in the United States, all for profit.
According to testimony during the two-day trial, Lazos Ortiz participated in an alien smuggling operation that was responsible for smuggling more than 100 illegal aliens from Hidalgo, Mexico, into the United States. The illegal aliens paid smuggling fees ranging from $1,500 to $2,500 to be crossed into the country illegally and taken to various U.S. cities.
The alien smuggling organization walked the undocumented aliens across the Rio Grande, and housed them in many drop houses in the El Paso area. Later, members of the smuggling ring loaded the illegal border crossers into train boxcars destined for Tucson. Once in Tucson, they were driven to Phoenix, then to Las Vegas. From there, many of the illegal aliens traveled to Atlanta.
“It was clear to our investigators, and the jury agreed, that Lazos Ortiz and his organization traded their human dignity for profit and greed,” said Roberto G. Medina, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in El Paso. “ICE will continue to aggressively target unscrupulous smugglers, who have little regard for the health, well-being and dignity of their human cargo.”
Evidence presented during trial showed that Lazos Ortiz rented stash houses, provided vehicles for transporting the aliens and collected alien smuggling fees. Western Union transaction records showed that between April 2005 and November 2006, Lazos Ortiz collected more than $36,000 from 40 different individuals in Mexico and 15 states, including: New York, California, Florida, Nevada, Maryland, Georgia, Colorado and Texas.
More than 15 defendants have been convicted for their roles in this alien smuggling organization. The three men who BEST members arrested in October along with Lazos Ortiz have since pleaded.
Lazos Ortiz, who remains on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced June 11 before U.S. District Judge David Briones. He faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard Watts, Brandy Gardes and Chris Blanton are prosecuting this case.
BEST is an ICE-led, U.S. Department of Homeland Security national initiative created along the southern border. The El Paso BEST team was formed in October 2006. Since its inception, the team has arrested and prosecuted 85 individuals, obtained 21 federal indictments and earned convictions against 22 people. The team has also seized 45 vehicles, two weapons and more than $91,500 in cash. BEST has also seized 459 pounds of marijuana and 70 pounds of cocaine. The team has returned 380 illegal aliens to their country of origin.
The BEST team includes officers from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who are collocated in the task force to share information. This close coordination among law enforcement agencies also helps to identify and eliminate cross-border criminal organizations, such as alien smuggling networks, and the supporting infrastructure that sustains them.
— ICE —
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http://www.ice.gov/pi/news/newsreleases/articles/070403sandiego.htm
April 3, 2007
More than 300 arrested in ICE operation targeting illegal alien fugitives and immigration violators in San Diego and Imperial Counties
SAN DIEGO - A total of 359 immigration violators from 15 different nations were arrested here during the past two weeks by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as part of Operation Return to Sender, an ongoing ICE initiative targeting criminal aliens, foreign nationals with final orders of deportation, previously deported aliens, and other immigration violators.
Of the foreign nationals taken into custody during the two-week enforcement action, 50 have criminal records, including past convictions for child sex offenses, robbery, and drug violations. Among those arrested was a 26-year-old legal permanent resident from Pakistan who was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for her role in a bank robbery. The group also included 61 immigration fugitives, aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation issued by immigration judges, and 39 previously deported aliens who illegally re-entered the United States after being removed.
Since many of these individuals have already been ordered deported through immigration proceedings, they are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining aliens are in ICE custody and are awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge. Some of those targeted as part of the enforcement action are immigration fugitives, illegal aliens who have ignored final orders of deportation issued by immigration judges.
The two-week local effort is part of Operation Return to Sender, an ongoing ICE initiative targeting criminal aliens, foreign nationals with final orders of deportation, and other immigration violators. Since its launch in late May 2006, Operation Return to Sender has resulted in more than 18,000 arrests nationwide. More than 850 of those arrests occurred in the San Diego area. The local arrests included more than 300 criminal aliens and nearly 300 immigration fugitives.
“The hundreds of immigration violators arrested during this operation are a testament to the hard work and perseverance of the ICE officers involved,” Robin Baker, field officer director for ICE detention and removal operations in San Diego. “Our message is - if you are ordered deported you should obey the immigration court’s order. Otherwise, ICE is going to track you down and send you home.” The majority of the aliens taken into custody here this week are Mexican nationals, but the group also included immigration violators from 14 other nations - Cambodia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Iraq, Laos, Peru, Pakistan, Philippines, Sierra Leon, Thailand and Viet Nam.
This week’s operation was conducted by officers with the two ICE fugitive operations teams currently assigned to San Diego and Imperial Counties. The Fugitive Operations Program was established in 2003 to eliminate the nation’s backlog of immigration fugitives. Today, there are 52 fugitive operations teams nationwide and ICE expects to expand that number to 75 by year’s end.
The fugitive operations initiative is an integral part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Secure Border Initiative (SBI), a comprehensive multi-year plan to secure America’s borders and reduce illegal migration. Under SBI, Homeland Security seeks to gain operational control of both the northern and southern borders, while re-engineering the detention and removal system to ensure that illegal aliens are removed from the country quickly and efficiently. The SBI also involves strong interior enforcement efforts, including enhanced worksite enforcement, and intensified efforts to track down and remove illegal aliens inside this country.
— ICE —