Kevin Noe Campos Villa, a 20-year-old from Tijuana, Mexico, has been sentenced to prison for his role in smuggling seven undocumented immigrants through sewer pipes into the United States, according to an announcement by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Campos, who had previously admitted to guiding the group through the sewage system during inclement weather, will serve seven months behind bars.
On the day of his arrest, January 22, Campos was observed by Border Patrol agents as he directed the individuals from Mexico through the sewer pipes near the San Ysidro Port of Entry, taking advantage of the open grates that were meant to protect against heavy rains. Campos and three of the immigrants attempted to evade capture, leading to a dire situation where they had to be rescued from the contaminated Tijuana River by San Diego lifeguards.
Some of the immigrants were at significant risk in a hazardous turn of events. According to court documents, two stated they "feared for their lives when crossing the river" because they could not swim; one, in particular, was swept away by the current, only surviving by clinging to a tree branch until help arrived. The operation leveraged moments when heavy rain forced the unsealing of grates, which was meant to prevent such illicit passages but was opened to prevent overflow damage.
The court established that Campos had struck a deal to guide the immigrants in exchange for reducing his smuggling fee to $6,000. Furthermore, Campos confessed to having constructed ladders for smugglers to facilitate illegal border crossings in the past. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Adeline Schulberg led the prosecution of this case against Campos, who faced charges that carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
