A Puerto Rico man pleaded guilty this week to federal charges arising from a human smuggling operation that brought people across the Canadian border into Vermont. Jesus Hernandez Ortiz, 38, admitted to picking up a group of 12 people in Holland, Vermont, after they entered the United States illegally, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Court records show that Hernandez Ortiz expected to be paid $4,800, $400 per person, to drive the group from Orleans County to New York City. He had been involved in smuggling operations for nearly two years, prosecutors said.
A previous indictment also named Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado, a Dominican national accused of guiding people across the border before turning them over to drivers including Hernandez Ortiz.
“The northern border is incredibly dangerous and anyone encouraging or facilitating the smuggling of aliens, especially children, across the border in these remote locations is putting lives at risk,” said Matthew Millhollin of ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit.
Originally reported by MyChamplainValley.
Photo: Pixabay via Pexels. Photo is illustrative and not from the scene.
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