ICE touts nearly 33,000 migrant arrests in less than 2 months of new Trump term
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, released recent migrant arrest numbers of those illegally in the U.S.
Straight Arrow News
Two men were convicted in federal court Tuesday of conspiracy to transport migrants resulting in the deaths of 53 people who were found in an abandoned tractor-trailer in 2022, the deadliest known migrant smuggling attempt in U.S. history.
Felipe Orduna-Torres and Armando Gonzales-Ortega each face life in prison. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia in San Antonio set sentencing for June 27 − the third anniversary of the deaths.
The two men on trial and others participated in the human smuggling ring from December 2021 to June 2022, according to court records. The men transported migrants by sharing routes, guides, stash houses, trucks and trailers to consolidate costs and minimize risks, according to court records. They charged $12,000 to $15,000 per person for the journey, according to court records.
But without air conditioning in the truck and 103-degree heat, some migrants lost consciousness while others clawed at the walls trying to escape, according to court documents and evidence at trial. The 47 adults and six children who died – and another 11 people who were injured in the incident – were from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Today is a momentous day in the Department’s relentless fight against the leaders, organizers, and key facilitators of human smuggling networks,” Matthew Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, told reporters after the verdicts were read. “The goal is to eliminate the scourge of human smuggling.”
The department has charged 760 defendants in human smuggling since President Donald Trump took office, he said.
In the days leading up to June 27, 2022, the defendants allegedly orchestrated the retrieval of an empty tractor-trailer and handed it off to a driver, according to the indictment. Gonzales-Ortega, also known as “El Don,” allegedly traveled to Laredo to meet the truck, where it was loaded with migrants for the drive to San Antonio, according to the indictment.
But when members of the criminal organization met the truck after its three-hour journey, they opened the doors to find 48 people dead, including one pregnant woman. Sixteen people were transported to hospitals, where five more died.
Many of them suffered from heat stroke and heat exhaustion and there were no signs of water or working air conditioning in the truck, authorities said.
“These defendants knew that the air conditioner did not work and nevertheless disregarded the danger that posed to their human cargo,” Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas told reporters Tuesday.
Who else was charged?
Four other defendants in the same case had pleaded guilty earlier.
- Christian Martinez pleaded guilty in September 2023 to four counts of conspiracy and to transporting migrants resulting in death or injuries. His sentencing is scheduled Nov. 20.
- Riley Covarrubias-Ponce pleaded guilty in January 2024 to the four counts and his sentencing is set Nov. 6.
- Luis Rivera-Leal, also known as “Cowboy,” pleaded guilty in February 2024 to transportation of migrants resulting in serious injury. He is set to be sentenced Nov. 13.
- Homero Zamorano pleaded guilty in January to three counts of conspiracy and transporting migrants resulting in death. He awaits sentencing Dec. 4.
Another defendant, Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, pleaded guilty in May 2023 in a separate case based on the same incident to four counts of bringing and harboring immigrants, and one count of unlawful transport of a firearm. His sentencing is set for Dec. 4.
Another defendant in the incident, Rigoberto Miranda-Orozco, was extradited from Guatemala and made his first court appearance on Monday. He faces six counts related to migrant smuggling.
“This extradition sends the message that the Department of Justice will pursue human smugglers who violate U.S. law no matter where they are,” Galeotti said.