Arizona human smuggling coordinators sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison

PHOENIX — Two Arizona men were sentenced to nearly four years in prison last week for their role in smuggling undocumented immigrants into the United States, authorities said.

The sentencing comes after Ian E. Serrano, 27, and Marco Romero, 22, both from Nogales, plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport and harbor undocumented immigrants for profit in June, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona said in a press release.

Serrano and Romero worked together to supervise a human smuggling organization by recruiting drivers and sending them to numerous locations to pick up or drop off immigrants in the Nogales and Rio Rico communities.

Both men have prior convictions for the same offense.

They each received a sentence of 37 months for their role in smuggling, plus another eight months for violating supervised released from their previous convictions.

The prosecution was a result of efforts made by the Joint Task Force Alpha, which was created in 2021 to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against human smuggling groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

The JTFA is made up from various government organizations, including the FBI, the DEA and law enforcement agents and analysts from the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Related

3 arrested after 86 undocumented immigrants found in PhoenixConstruction begins on $20.1M medical office condominium development in Queen CreekDeveloper announces completion of Nexus Commerce Center industrial park in Tempe2 found dead after fire at home in MaricopaNewborn found safe in northern AZ after being abducted from West ValleyHow to protect your dog from venomous snakes in Arizona