A man from Hixson recently pled guilty in a New York court to conspiring to transport aliens for financial gain, according to a press release by the Northern District of New York U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Juan Manuel Rivera-Aguilar, 36, admitted that on April 1, 2023, he and German Ojeda-Solano drove to the U.S. side of the international border with Canada in Mooers, New York, “seeking to pick up three people who had recently crossed over the border on foot without authorization,” according to the Attorney’s Office.
“When Rivera-Aguilar and Ojeda-Solano saw U.S. Border Patrol agents searching for the people in the woods, Ojeda-Solano reversed the vehicle and began traveling south. Shortly thereafter, agents stopped their vehicle and arrested Rivera-Aguilar and Ojeda-Solano. Rivera-Aguilar admitted that he expected to be paid for transporting the three people to a destination in the United States,” the Attorney’s Office further reported.
Rivera-Aguilar is scheduled to be sentenced on February 2, 2024, according to the Attorney’s Office which notes he faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.
Last month, Rivera-Aguilar’s accomplice Ojeda-Solano pled guilty to conspiring to transport aliens for financial gain and was sentenced to 6 months in prison.
The Swanton Sector of the U.S.-Canada border saw more migrant apprehensions in Fiscal Year 2023 than the last 10 years combined, according to Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia. Over a one-year period, apprehensions have surpassed those of 11 prior years combined.
Fiscal Year 2023 saw a 550 percent increase in apprehensions over Fiscal Year 2022 at the Swanton Sector.
The top five countries the apprehended subjects are from include Mexico, India, Venezuela, Haiti, and Romania.
“The dedicated vigilance of our Border Patrol Agents to address the volume of cross-border traffic & protect our border, the nation, & fellow citizens is inspiring & praiseworthy,” Chief Garcia wrote in a social media post.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Illegal Aliens Apprehended” by Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia.
Which one is from Tennessee?
Are they going to be deported?
I’d rather deport them than have to pay to house & feed them. They’ll get out on ” good” behavior.
Then they will go back & do the same thing again.
We have Cartels living in El Paso, sending their kids to American Schools. They are dangerous criminals. Why are we not arresting them?