A Mexican national has been handed a 12-year federal prison sentence for her involvement in human smuggling, as she orchestrated transport for undocumented noncitizens. Dulce Maria Almaguer-Morquecho, a 43-year-old from Nueva Rosita, Coahuila, Mexico, was also ordered to pay over $52,000 in restitution after her guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to transport aliens, resulting in serious bodily injury or placing lives in jeopardy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Almaguer-Morquecho, was responsible for operating a stash house and coordinating human smuggling efforts, as stated in the court documents. She was associated with the ownership of numerous vehicles and a cellphone, all implicated in smuggling operations from May 2021 to January 2022. In addition to harboring undocumented individuals, she was also recruiting drivers, promising them $1,000 for each migrant transported, during her involvement in these activities, she was arrested on July 5, 2022.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that co-defendant Haley Yvonne Garrett received a six-year sentence on August 15 for her part as a load driver within the same operation. During a high-speed chase in Del Rio, Garrett crashed into a Sonic restaurant, which led to several undocumented noncitizens being ejected from her vehicle. Other co-defendants involved have been sentenced to three to five years for their respective roles in the smuggling conspiracy.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Border Patrol, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Miner leading the prosecution. The U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas emphasized the seriousness of the crime and the commitment of the justice system to holding individuals accountable for endangering human lives through illegal smuggling operations.
