The Justice Department announced charges against 14 members of what it described as an extensive alien-smuggling organization, with eight additional individuals arrested for smuggling hundreds of migrants into the United States. A grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, indicted the 14 defendants for conspiracy to transport, harbor, and bring undocumented migrants into the country.

According to the DOJ, the defendants participated in a sophisticated conspiracy that endangered migrants and resulted in at least one death. Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon stated that the organization smuggled hundreds of migrants—including unaccompanied minors—through New Mexico and South Texas, and that the Justice Department cooperated with the Department of Homeland Security to dismantle the network.

The indictment alleges that the group smuggled undocumented individuals across the southern border from Mexico and transported them within the United States, using “stash houses” to hide them along the route. Some defendants allegedly attempted to evade law enforcement by driving at high speeds and instructing migrants on how to flee or avoid U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints.

The DOJ further reported that one migrant died of heat exposure during a smuggling attempt and was abandoned in the desert. Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin emphasized that human-smuggling groups endanger public safety and national security, and said his office remains committed to targeting these organizations, holding their leaders accountable, and seizing their illicit profits.

The arrests follow a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump reversing nearly all Biden-Harris immigration and border policies, which critics claim created an “open border” environment. Nearly 8 million illegal crossings were reportedly recorded during the previous administration’s four-year term.

According to ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens, human smuggling is a lethal crime that exploits vulnerable migrants and endangers the public. Each defendant faces charges of conspiracy to bring, transport, and harbor undocumented individuals, carrying a maximum potential sentence of 10 years in federal prison, with the final penalty to be determined by a federal judge.