(RepublicanReport.org) – Immigration in the United States has been a hot topic during this presidential election cycle. During the 2023 fiscal year, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported over 3.2 million encounters at the borders. While that number alone is stunning, many migrants aren’t even counted in those numbers, as they enter the country through different means.
On July 18, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment against 42-year-old Abdul Karim Conteh of Sierra Leone. He was arrested and charged for allegedly leading a human smuggling organization that brought thousands of migrants into the US illegally. Conteh was arrested in Mexico on July 11, and the federal government is working on his extradition so he can face the federal charges against him in America. The DOJ said that Conteh’s wife, Veronica Roblero Pivaral, is also wanted by the feds but remains at large.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ worked hard to stop the “transnational human smuggling operation” that not only put the lives of migrants in danger but also “threaten[ed] our national security.” He said the operation illegally smuggled migrants into the US from a lot of different countries, shuffling them through Mexico and across the border.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas called the alleged actions of the operation “heinous,” adding that the sting should serve as a “warning to would-be migrants everywhere” to stay away from smugglers because they lie and risk lives for profit.
The suspect reportedly coordinated with his wife and others to transport the migrants from countries all over the world to Mexico and through the border using secret and “unlawful means” like “ladders and tunnels.” The exact number of migrants smuggled into the US through these means was not made clear in the indictment.
The conspiracy to smuggle migrants charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. However, additional charges against Conteh carry mandatory minimums of up to five years behind bars.
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