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Joint Task Force (JTF)

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Central Florida Foursome Pleads Guilty in Cocaine Conspiracy

ORLANDO, Fla. – Four Orlando-area residents have pleaded guilty for their roles in a narcotics distribution conspiracy following a joint Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force with HSI Orlando.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

HSI Investigation Leads to Charges for 5 Guatemalan Human Smugglers for 2021 Mass Casualty Event in Chiapas, Mexico

WASHINGTON — An investigation conducted by HSI special agents in Washington, D.C., Houston, Mexico City, and Guatemala resulted in the arrests of five alleged human smugglers Dec. 9, in both El Boquerón, Guatemala and Houston, Texas.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Major Enforcement Operation in Guatemala Secures Arrest of Human Smuggler Indicted by JTFA

Extensive coordination and collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and domestic and international partners resulted in a major enforcement operation that dismantled a human smuggling network based in Guatemala. In June 2022, this network smuggled people into the United States on a journey that ended with the deaths of 53 migrants in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, Texas. Twenty-one of the deceased migrants were Guatemalan.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

HSI Douglas, Multiagency Case Sends Human Smuggling Guide to 10 Years in Prison

DOUGLAS, Ariz. – A Mexican national was sentenced July 2 to 10 years in prison for multiple charges related to human smuggling activity.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Alleged Transnational Human Smuggler Indicted and Sanctioned in the United States and Arrested in Mexico

An indictment was unsealed containing criminal charges against the alleged leader of a human smuggling organization responsible for unlawfully bringing thousands of migrants into the United States. Along with the organization, the defendant, who was arrested in Mexico at the request of the United States, has also been designated for financial sanctions by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Readout of Joint Task Force Alpha’s Third Anniversary Meeting

Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Kristie Canegallo and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland marked the third anniversary of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the highly successful national effort to investigate and prosecute human smuggling at the southern border, by convening senior leaders of the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, and State to discuss their shared, ongoing work.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Justice Department Expands Efforts to Dismantle Human Smuggling Operations and Support Immigration Prosecutions

Ahead of the third anniversary of the establishment of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Justice Department announced additional efforts to dismantle human smuggling operations and increase accountability for those who violate our immigration laws.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Honduras-based Human Smuggler Sentenced to 10 Years Following HSI Sells Investigation

SELLS, Ariz. — A Honduran woman was sentenced May 28 to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for human smuggling.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

Honduras-Based Leader of Migrant Smuggling Organization Sentenced

The leader of a migrant smuggling organization was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in smuggling over 100 migrants from Honduras to the United States for profit.

Last Updated: | Press Releases

JTFA-Coordinated Investigation Found Two Foreign Nationals Sentenced for Human Smuggling Conspiracy

Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), created by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, coordinated an investigation that saw two Guatemalan nationals sentenced in the Western District of Texas for their role in a prolific human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the death of a migrant.