FAIRusa.org - FOURTEEN TEXAS BUSING COMPANIES ILLEGAL SMUGGLING

Fourteen Texas Busing Companies Implicated in Illegal Alien Smuggling Scheme
Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 22 individuals charged with conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants as a result of a three-month investigation into fourteen Houston-area transportation businesses. (The Washington Post, February 5, 2010). According to federal officials, the individuals “allegedly accepted cash from alien smugglers to move undocumented aliens in vans and SUVs from Houston to other cities around the United States.” (ICE Press Release, February 3, 2010). ICE also arrested 81 suspected illegal aliens during the operation, who were then placed in deportation proceedings. (Id.).

DHS Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton noted that the busing companies were not legitimate businesses, but were instead working exclusively with enterprises seeking to smuggle illegal aliens into the United States. Once the aliens had been smuggled into the United States, the busing companies paid commissions to smugglers to bring the aliens to them. The companies then charged the aliens up to $650 for a one-way ticket from Houston to cities throughout the country. (The Houston Chronicle, February 3, 2010).

The offense of human smuggling includes not only bringing illegal aliens into the country, but also the unlawful transporting and harboring of aliens already in the country illegally. (INA 274(a)(1), (2)). Assistant Secretary Morton commented on the arrests: “Human smugglers are ruthless criminals who prey upon and profit from people seeking a new life in our country. This crime undermines our borders and reaches every state in the interior, leaving a trail of exploitation. ICE is committed to preventing human smuggling by using every available resource to investigate, dismantle, and present for prosecution businesses involved in the unlawful activity.” (ICE Press Release, February 3, 2010).