A smuggler who used Snapchat to contact migrants has been sentenced to six years in prison by a U.S. district judge for his role in transporting people illegally across the country.
Jesus Alexandro Sanchez-Armenta, 23, of Phoenix, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit on July 16. He has 21 previous arrests for a litany of crimes, including traffic violations and driving without a license, according to filings seen by Newsweek.
Sanchez-Armenta used the social media app to collect undocumented noncitizens in Southern Arizona and then he transported them to other parts of the United States for financial gain. He recruited co-conspirators through social media sites.
Migrants crossing Mexico to get to the U.S. have increasingly become targets of criminal gangs. One smuggler who used Snapchat to contact migrants has been sentenced to six years in prison by a U.S. district judge for his role in transporting people illegally.
Eduardo Verdugo/AP
He has been sentenced to 72 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for his role in human smuggling.
The investigation was conducted through a collaborative effort by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Tucson Sector of the Border Patrol.
Sanchez-Armenta provided his co-conspirators with detailed instructions on how and where to collect migrants. The Snapchat smuggler and his accomplices would provide the GPS coordinates to pick-up points for migrants and set up smuggling routes designed to evade law enforcement officials.
“This sentencing clearly illustrates the serious consequences faced by those who attempt to make money by coordinating human smuggling activity,” HSI Arizona Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola said in a statement.
“Those who choose to engage in human smuggling only show a callous disregard for the value of human life. We will not let up our efforts to disrupt and dismantle their illicit pathways and leverage our resources to work together with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice,” he added.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Stuart Zander.
Guardsmen talk with migrants near Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 11, 2023. The U.S. is trying to crack down on illegal migration.
Eric Gay/AP
Meanwhile, a 20-year-old man was sentenced to 10 months in prison after he recruited drivers through Snapchat to pick up undocumented noncitizens in Southern Arizona.
Mauricio Andrade-Garcia, of Heber City, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit on March 14, 2024.
It comes after HSI El Paso special agents arrested 13 migrants and an alleged smuggler inside a stash house rented through Airbnb.
According to a report by the United Nations (UN), the smuggling business from Mexico into the U.S. generates an estimated $4 billion annually, using data from 2014 and 2015. The UN at the time said this estimate was conservative.
Still, migrant crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border have plummeted, falling to a three-year low in June after President Joe Biden imposed a major crackdown on people who crossed into the United States seeking asylum. It is the lowest monthly level since Biden assumed the presidency and the lowest level of crossings since September 2020.
U.S. officials have attributed the decrease in crossings to Biden’s policy.
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