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An Arlington woman was federally indicted for allegedly smuggling a woman from Mexico to Jacksonville recently and now we’re learning just how widespread the problem is.
The Department of Justice says it has filed charges on more than 2,700 human smugglers in the last year. Of those cases, 75 were in Florida.
The majority of the human smuggling cases took place along the southwest border with more than 1,500 criminal charges filed in Texas.
Those convicted of human trafficking for commercial benefit face up to 10 years in prison and an additional fine.
The DOJ says many of the cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices involve migrants “who have been kidnapped, taken hostage, beaten, sexually assaulted, threatened or who have actually died as a result of living under some of the most perilous conditions.”
The Justice Department is currently working with foreign countries to identify and prosecute smugglers. These ongoing collaborative efforts by the DOJ are helping tackle unlawful migration, specifically the influx of unaccompanied children. As a result, they have charged more than 18,000 defendants with smuggling or harboring immigrants between the years 2009 and 2014.
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