Alleged Crime Family Orchestrated Multi-State Illegal Immigrant Smuggling Ring, Feds Say

Several members of a family allegedly coordinated a scheme to smuggle illegal immigrants across the southern border and into the U.S. interior, according to Border Report.

Authorities arrested six members of the Lopez family, while four others remain on the run, according to Border Report. The group allegedly operated in New Mexico, Arizona, California and Virginia, Jorge H. Uribarri, assistant special agent with Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, said, according to Border Report.

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Arizonan Sentenced After Being Caught Attempting to Deal Fentanyl

Steve Lugo Leon, 24, of Phoenix, Arizona, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison after pleading guilty to intending to distribute an illicit substance containing fentanyl, according to a Thursday release from the Arizona District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office (District).

The incident occurred back in 2021 at the Arizona Mills Mall in Tempe. Leon had arranged to sell fentanyl pills and methamphetamine with a client, but when police showed up, the dealer attempted to flee in his vehicle. He also had an accomplice in the car, Rafael Ivan Valenzuela Chairez, 20, of Phoenix; however, in the ensuing chase, Leon hit another vehicle, causing his truck to flip on its side. Chairez attempted to flee on foot, but both dealers were apprehended by police. Officers then found 946 grams of fentanyl, around 9,000 pills, and 12.83 kilograms of methamphetamine.

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Minnesota Ranks in the Top Five States for Cigarette Smuggling

A new study released by The Tax Foundation this week reports high tax rates on cigarettes induce smuggling of tobacco products from low-tax states or foreign sources into high-tax states.

“States and municipalities have spent millions to combat cigarette smuggling. Recent policy responses include greater law enforcement activity on interstate roads, differential tax rates near low-tax jurisdictions, banning common carrier delivery of cigarettes, and cracking down on tribal reservations that sell tax-free cigarettes,” the “Cigarette Taxes and Cigarette Smuggling by State, 2020” report said. “However, the underlying problem persists. High cigarette taxes act similarly to a ‘price prohibition’ on the legal product in many U.S. states, incentivizing smuggling and illicit activity.”

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White House Rejects Blame for Deadly Migrant Smuggling Event in Texas, Says Border Is ‘Closed’

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rejected criticism from Republicans that the Biden administration is to blame for the human smuggling attempt that ended in tragedy Monday in Texas, saying that the border is “closed.”

At least 46 people are dead after an 18-wheeler smuggling migrants was found in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday night. It’s one of the deadliest smuggling incidents from the U.S.-Mexico border in recent decades, according to the Associated Press.

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Yuma Border Patrol Intercepts 33 Illegal Aliens Being Smuggled in Van

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Arizona’s Yuma Sector Tuesday announced that it apprehended more than 30 illegal aliens who were attempting to be smuggled into the United States in one van. 

“U.S. Border Patrol intelligence agents intercepted a smuggling attempt after National Guard members witnessed multiple suspected migrants load into a van Friday morning,” said Chris T. Clem, Chief Patrol Agent at the Yuma Sector. “Agents discovered 33 migrants inside the van. The U.S. driver and Mex[ican] passenger[s] were arrested.”

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The Left Will Do Anything For Votes, Even Put Children in Danger

unaccompanied children

By Printus LeBlanc   The mainstream media and the left seem to have forgotten about the border, probably because they read the polls on illegal immigration, the problem still persists. Not only does it persist, it is getting worse. Children have become the accessory of choice for human smugglers, and the left and mainstream media don’t seem to have a problem with it. Their latest tirades against the President show they will stop at nothing to import votes — even putting children in danger. Border Patrol agents on the Mexican border are reporting on a disturbing trend. Children have become a commodity to be traded like baseball cards. Human smugglers know the loopholes in the U.S. immigration system better than Congress. The principal loophole used by the smugglers is the 1997 “Flores Agreement.” The agreement is at the center of the current debacle on the southern border. The most glaring fallacy pushed by the left and mainstream media is that every child in federal custody was ripped from their arms of their parents. This is patently false. The vast majority of children the federal government is housing are what is known as unaccompanied minors (UAC). When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…

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Border Patrol Seizes Heroin at New Mexico Checkpoint

southern border

The U.S. Border Patrol says its agents have seized more than $1 million in heroin at an immigration checkpoint in New Mexico. The agency says authorities conducting an inspection at the checkpoint on New Mexico Highway 70 found the drugs Thursday in a black Honda that was being transported across the border on a tractor-trailer with other cars. They say the Honda stood out because it was not in good condition, unlike the other vehicles. A canine also alerted agents to the vehicle. In a statement, the Border Patrol said the heroin was wrapped in a bundle, along with a couple kilograms of cocaine. U.S. Border Patrol Agent Fidel Baca said the driver would not be facing criminal prosecution in the case. Additional details were not immediately available.             VOA News

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