PHOENIX — Federal prosecutors say a woman who helped hundreds of migrants enter the United States through Arizona was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.
Read more 1 dead following off-road vehicle crash in Surprise
According to federal authorities, 64-year-old Ofelia Hernandez Salas helped smuggle more than 200 migrants across the southern border between 2018 and 2022. Prosecutors say many of those migrants came from countries in the Middle East and Asia, including Iran, Russia and Bangladesh.
“This highlights one of the great dangers of that mass illegal immigration from the previous administration that we are cleaning up with this case right now,” said Tim Courchaine, U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona. “We’re still digging out of that mess.”
Investigators say migrants paid Hernandez Salas between $10,000 and $20,000 to be smuggled into the United States. Prosecutors allege the operation involved migrants flying to South America before making their way north through Mexico and eventually crossing into Arizona.
Court documents state Hernandez Salas used the Plaza Hotel in Mexicali, Mexico, to house migrants before they crossed the border. Authorities allege some migrants were held against their will and exploited after enduring the lengthy journey.
“Not only did they charge huge amounts to bring people into the United States illegally, but then at the point of crossing the border, when they’re most vulnerable, she would rob them,” Courchaine said. “We have anecdotes of them stripping clothes off people crossing the border.”
Hernandez Salas was arrested in Mexico in 2023 and later indicted in Arizona on dozens of felony charges. After pleading guilty late last year, she was sentenced in federal court in downtown Phoenix on Monday, May 11, to 11 years in prison. Prosecutors say she will be deported after serving her sentence.
Federal authorities said Hernandez Salas has a lengthy criminal history in the United States dating back more than three decades, including four prior deportations.
“She has a 36-year-long criminal history that includes a variety of criminal convictions in the United States,” Courchaine said. “She herself was an illegal alien who crossed into the United States a number of times and then went back to exploit those same people.”
Read more ‘Right place at the right time’: Ohio man saves mom, daughter from sinking car
Prosecutors say the case also raises broader national security concerns because Hernandez Salas allegedly facilitated the entry of migrants from approximately 20 countries, some of which U.S. officials consider hostile to Western interests.
“Most notably Iran,” 12News journalist Sean Rice asked Courchaine during an interview. “We’re at war with them right now, and they’re on that list. Is that alarming to you?”
“That is alarming,” Courchaine responded, “and that’s one of the primary points as to why this case is important in particular and why it highlights the dangers of a porous southern border and the alien smuggling networks overall.”
When asked whether Americans should be concerned about the migrants who successfully entered the country through the operation, Courchaine said the issue underscores the importance of continued immigration enforcement efforts.
“I think you have to be concerned about that,” he said. “It shouldn’t stop your day-to-day life, but you have to be concerned about it. That’s why we’ve seen an importance of internal enforcement in the United States, because we have this population that we don’t know what their intention is.”
Despite the sentencing, federal authorities say human smuggling operations continue to operate in Arizona.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office recently indicted five men accused of operating another smuggling ring in the Phoenix metro area. Prosecutors say additional charges and investigations are expected as authorities continue targeting trafficking organizations operating along the southern border.
Read more Arizona PBS hosts first GOP school superintendent debate after critical ESA audit