Mexican citizen admits smuggling hundreds across Canada/U.S. border

WASHINGTON, D.C. | A citizen of Mexico pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in an international human smuggling conspiracy that illegally brought undocumented migrants from Mexico, Central, and South America across the northern border with Canada into the United States for profit. According to court documents, Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 24, was a leader in an alien smuggling organization (ASO) while he was living illegally in Kansas City, Mo. The ASO smuggled hundreds of aliens into the United States. Once the aliens were inside the U.S., the ASO employed drivers to pick them up and drive them further into the country. The defendant personally participated in and coordinated smuggling events with other leaders of the ASO. During one smuggling event in May 2023, a van carrying aliens became involved in a high-speed chase with U.S. Border Patrol. Border Patrol had to stop their pursuit due to the risk to the public. Ultimately the local sheriff's department used a tire deflation device to stop the vehicle after it failed to yield. Sanchez-Solis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10, 2026. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York, and Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo Field Office made today's announcement. FAUSA Sarcone stated: "The defendant was a leader of an alien smuggling organization that smuggled hundreds of aliens into the United States during the prior administration's unprecedented open border policy. The defendant has ties to Canada and Mexico, but he coordinated many of the smuggling events while he was also illegally living in the United States. This defendant exploited Canada's lax visitor visa policy and used Canada as a waypoint for unvetted aliens traveling from Mexico looking for a way into the United States. This conviction sends a message that the North Country will not tolerate illegal immigration along its border, and the Northern District of New York and its federal partners in law enforcement will identify, apprehend, and prosecute alien smugglers to the fullest extent of the law." HSI SAC Erin Keegan stated: "By pleading guilty, Edgar Sanchez-Solis has admitted his role in an international human smuggling conspiracy that moved dozens of aliens through Canada into northern New York for profit and put the public at risk with dangerous high-speed attempts to flee from law enforcement. His conviction is a significant blow to that criminal network and sends a clear message that HSI Rouses Point and our partners with the Department of Justice and the U.S. Border Patrol will not tolerate smugglers who exploit our borders and endanger our communities." HSI Rouses Point and U.S. Border Patrol Burke Station investigated the case, with substantial assistance from HSI's Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. and CBP's National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carling Dunham for the Northern District of New York and Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section prosecuted the case. The investigation and indictment were supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department's lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA's mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant United States Attorney-detailees from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/HSI and CBP/BP and OFO, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA's work has resulted in more than 455 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 400 U.S. convictions; and more than 345 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Project Safe Neighborhood.

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Mexican citizen admits smuggling hundreds across Canada/U.S. border

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