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U.S. Intensifies Human-Smuggling Crackdown With Arrests, Seizures and Federal Charges

Prosecutors are channeling border arrests into criminal court through interagency initiatives that target organized smuggling.

Overview

  • El Centro Sector agents disrupted an active operation in Seeley, detaining 19 migrants and four suspected smugglers at a South Haskell Road apartment complex on Jan. 31.
  • Seven people tried to flee during the Seeley action; agents seized six vehicles and captured five of the runners after a brief pursuit inside the complex.
  • CBP officers arrested Mexican national Gelacio Ortíz Domínguez on Feb. 11 after he ran through Otay vehicle lanes; prosecutors charged him with attempted entry after a prior deportation.
  • The Southern District of California reported about 114 border-related prosecutions in San Diego federal court this week, including a Feb. 9 Tecate-area pursuit that ended with two suspects facing transport charges.
  • DOJ separately charged Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado and Jesús Hernández Ortiz in an alleged Canada-to-U.S. smuggling scheme coordinated via encrypted chats from 2022 to 2024 that routed migrants through southern Canada to Vermont and on to New York as part of Joint Task Force Alpha.