Jump to content

3 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Posted

Immigration agents raid AZ van shuttle businesses

By BOB CHRISTIE and JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press Writers Bob Christie And Jacques Billeaud, Associated Press Writers – 28 mins ago PHOENIX – Federal agents on Thursday targeted more than 50 shuttle operators and smugglers accused of using the vans to transport thousands of illegal immigrants from spots near the Mexican border to Phoenix.

Investigators, who billed the bust as the largest human smuggling case in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's seven-year history, said the operators of four shuttle services in Tucson and a fifth in Phoenix created their businesses solely to help immigrant smugglers move their customers to Phoenix under a veil of legitimacy. The shuttle operators are accused of giving illegal immigrants fraudulent receipts and coaching them on what to say if the vans were pulled over by police.

"They are in knee-deep. They know exactly what's going on," said John Morton, assistant secretary of Homeland Security for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.

Arrests were made in Phoenix, Tucson and two other Arizona towns along the border, Nogales and Rio Rico. Investigators also made arrests in Tennessee, and Mexican authorities detained people south of the border. More than 800 agents from nine law enforcement agencies were involved, authorities said. The number of arrests hasn't yet been released.

In Phoenix, dozens of agents — some wearing black hoods over their faces — swarmed two shuttle business early Thursday in a strip mall in a heavily Latino neighborhood, just west of the state Capitol. They seized at least a dozen vans from shuttle companies, including new full-size vans emblazoned with the name of Sergio's Shuttle and older full-sized and minivans from other companies.

Sergio's Shuttle advertises van shuttle services from northern Mexico to cities in Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

A phone call to the business was not answered Thursday morning.

In Nogales, a southern Arizona border town, witnesses told the Nogales International they saw helicopters and federal agents swarming sites downtown. They converged around 8 a.m. on the Union Transportes de Nogales, which houses several shuttle companies and a money-changing house.

Nearby, agents surrounded a duplex with a shuttle van parked in front.

The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson reported that agents raided three sites in the southern Arizona city, making two arrests and seizing seven vans.

Morton said investigators gathered evidence that will show the shuttle operators were knew they were moving illegal immigrants, despite the claims of many in the past that they were performing a legitimate service.

"It's a calculated farce," Morton said of the five shuttle services.

Investigators say smugglers would guide immigrants from the Mexican border 65 miles north to Tucson so that they could walk around Border Patrol checkpoints. Once in Tucson, the immigrants would get into shuttle vans would take them to Phoenix via Interstate 10, a route that is patrolled by police but doesn't have checkpoints.

Immigration agents said the five shuttle businesses didn't perform legitimate transportation services, such as bringing customers to airports.

"They didn't advertise at all, because they didn't need to, they had a built-in clientele," said Matthew Allen, the chief of investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Arizona.

Arizona has been the busiest illegal gateway into the United States for several years; 45 percent of all immigrant arrests by U.S. Customs and Border Protection are made in the state. Smugglers use Phoenix, 180 miles from the border, as a hub for moving illegal immigrants across the country.

The nation's fifth-biggest city has plenty of highways to move people around, growth that makes it easier for smuggling operations to blend into neighborhoods, and countless "drop houses," where immigrants are hidden and smuggling fees are collected before smugglers bring their customers into the country's interior.

Smugglers have long gotten crucial help from some seemingly legitimate businesses that supply them with cars, lodging, plane tickets and other services.

The accomplices have included landlords and rental agents who provide homes for smugglers to hide immigrants; taxi drivers near the border who bring immigrants to the closest cities; used-car dealerships that let smugglers register vehicles under false names; and travel agencies that sell blocks of plane tickets for immigrants.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

N400 Timeline:

4/14/12- 3rd yr as PR

1/17/12- mailed packet

Biometrics-- waived

4/25/12- interview- passed & took my oath the same day!!-- US Citizen!!!

My N400 Journey took 3months & 8days!:)

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...