Feds charge at least a dozen people for smuggling hundreds of undocumented immigrants into U.S.

More than 10 members of a human smuggling organization — including one person from Albuquerque — were charged this month for allegedly bringing hundreds of people from South and Central America into the United States illegally, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to transport, harbor and bring in undocumented immigrants into the United States, federal officials said. The indictment, filed Friday, alleges the defendants were responsible for transporting the people within the U.S. and concealing them in “stash houses” along the way, according to the DOJ.

If convicted, they can each face up to 10 years in prison.

“During some of the smuggling events, the defendants allegedly evaded law enforcement by traveling at high rates of speed on the road and instructing aliens how to flee U.S. Border Patrol and evade checkpoints,” the news release states.

One of the undocumented immigrants died from heat exposure and was left in a desert, according to the DOJ.

Michelle Martinez, 29, of El Paso; Jesus Calvillo, 44, of El Paso; Jorge Calvillo, 25, of El Paso; Abel Aguilar-Cano, 53, of Albuquerque; and Jose Palomino, 27, of El Paso, made their initial court appearances Monday in the District of New Mexico and remain in U.S. custody, according to the DOJ.

Edna Valdez-China, 48, of El Paso; Leslie Nicole Calvillo, also known as Leslie Jaramillo, 24, of El Paso; and Melissa Vargas, 22, of El Paso, are in U.S. custody and will make their initial appearances Tuesday.

Jorge Alberto De La Cruz-Dominguez, also known as Guero, 54, of Juarez, Mexico; Jorge Valdez China, also known as Lolo, 23, of El Paso; Jonathan Valdez-China, also known as China and Dior, 24, of Juarez; and Alma Guadalupe Valdez-China, 41, of Juarez, were also charged, DOJ officials said.

DOJ worked with the Department of Homeland Security to “dismantle an alien smuggling organization based in Mexico that has allegedly smuggled hundreds of illegal aliens, including unaccompanied children, through New Mexico and South Texas,” said Antoinette T. Bacon, Justice Department’s Criminal Division supervisory official, in a statement.

“Human smuggling organizations threaten our national security and exploit vulnerable individuals for profit, putting their lives at risk and undermining public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin for the District of New Mexico. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of New Mexico is committed to continuing to work with our federal, state and local partners to dismantle transnational human smuggling organizations, hold their leaders accountable, and seize the illicit proceeds generated by these exploitative enterprises.”