Fast money, deadly results: Smugglers lure US teens to transport migrants
PHOENIX – Dozens of teenagers and young adults get recruited via social media applications to smuggle undocumented migrants from the Arizona-Mexico border to larger cities.
Investigators and analysts said the lure of fast and easy money, plus lies about the consequences they could face if they get caught, make young U.S. citizens vulnerable recruits.
Smuggling organizations will pay drivers $200 per carload to as much as $2,500 per person smuggled into the interior of the USA. These actions carry tremendous risks. Inexperienced drivers often end up in jail, injured in car crashes or dead.
Those responsible for investigating and prosecuting the cases said they see an increase in the number of high-speed chases and rollover accidents in southern Arizona involving teenagers and young adults smuggling people.
"It's a daily occurrence along the interstate and the major highways leading up into the Phoenix metropolitan area,” said Ray Rede, assistant special agent in charge for U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the agency responsible for investigating cross-border criminal activity, including transnational smuggling organizations.
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On April 21, Kevin Avila, 18, from Phoenix lost control of a gold Toyota RAV4 as he sped off from an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper. His vehicle crossed a median and crashed into a tractor-trailer on the eastbound lanes, shutting down the freeway for several hours.
The crash killed three Mexican migrants Avila was transporting to Phoenix. He was hospitalized and taken into custody after his release. Avila remains in jail and faces 14 felony counts stemming from the rollover accident, including three for manslaughter.
Last year, 22 people died in pursuits, up from 14 in 2020 and two in 2019, according to data from the American Civil Liberties Union. From 2015 to 2018, at least 250 people were injured and 22 killed in Border Patrol pursuits, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica.
Customs and Border Protection will “soon” update its policy on vehicle pursuits, Commissioner Chris Magnus told The Associated Press in late May.
Teenagers, young adults recruited on social media
The Arizona Republic, part of the Paste BN Network, reviewed the records for dozens of smuggling cases in local and federal courts in southern Arizona. The records, including law enforcement accident reports and criminal complaints filed in court, offer glimpses into how teens and young adults are recruited.
More than half of the drivers caught in southeastern Arizona were 14 to 28 years old, law enforcement records show. Most drivers came from the Phoenix area, others from as far away as Michigan.
In July 2021, a DPS trooper pulled over a Huyndai Sonota traveling along I-10 near the same area where Avila crashed his car April 21. The trooper said the car sagged in the back and two adults and an 8-year-old child were found in the trunk.
Troopers arrested Adrianna Espinoza, 19, and her boyfriend, Mario Parra-Vasquez, 22. Espinoza told investigators she was recruited via Snapchat by another woman with the username “Disneyplugg” to smuggle people.
Parra-Vasquez said they were supposed to get paid $1,000 to drive the people from Douglas, Arizona, to Phoenix.
Recruiters draw drivers in that way, investigators said.
"Money is a huge motivator. Right? They're going to throw up pictures of money, large sums of money, and they're very brazen about it,” Rede said.
Many recruited teens feel disassociated from the transnational criminals with whom they text, Rede said. There is a false sense of safety behind social media handles and the idea that if they step on the gas and drive away from the border, the crime will remain behind them. Then federal agents knock on their doors.
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“A lot of people believe that when you are on these platforms that, you know, your digital persona, who you really are, is not going to be found. And that’s just not true,” Rede said.
Espinoza let investigators search her phone after her arrest. They took screenshots of conversations on her phone coordinating the transportation of undocumented migrants in Douglas, including a Google Maps location indicating where to pick them up.
Espinoza and Parra-Vasquez pleaded guilty this year and were sentenced to probation.
Prosecutions stepped up in southern Arizona
A driver's age does not mean consequences will be lighter, especially if the smuggling incident results in deaths or injuries, Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre said.
"If they're 14 and above and they committed a dangerous offense, which that is a dangerous offense using that vehicle as a deadly weapon, then they become eligible for adult prosecution,” he said.
His office is prosecuting at least 32 open cases since the start of 2022 involving young drivers who fled from law enforcement and face charges of endangerment, aggravated assault and even kidnapping stemming from smuggling attempts.
Teenagers and young adults can face either federal or state charges, depending on which agency arrests and investigates them.
In October 2021, Felix Mendez ran a red light at an intersection in Whetstone, Arizona. He rammed into a silver sedan at about 100 mph, nearly slicing it in half and killing Wanda Sitoski, 65.
Mendez, 16, from Mesa, Arizona, was recruited through social media to transport undocumented migrants up to Phoenix. Near Tombstone, Arizona, a marshal attempted a traffic stop. Mendez fled, and even after officers cut off the pursuit, he continued driving at high speed.
Mendez was charged in the Superior Court of Arizona with first-degree murder, kidnapping, second-degree murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, endangerment, unlawful flight from law enforcement and criminal damages.
Investigations have also resulted in the incarceration of recruiters who use social media to target drivers.
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On May 13, a federal judge in Tucson sentenced Isaiah Brinkley to 75 months in prison for his role in coordinating a smuggling attempt that ended in a deadly rollover accident in January 2020. He had coordinated at least four other smuggling attempts since 2019 and admitted to getting paid $3,900 per person to oversee their pickup and travel.
Often, the people the drivers transport into the USA become material witnesses in the case. Their testimony is used as proof to convict the drivers.
Rui Wang, criminal division chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tucson, helps prosecute such cases in southern Arizona. Her office prioritizes smuggling incidents involving injuries and deaths and those that pose a danger to communities, she said.
Prosecutors noticed a large uptick in the number of drivers, including Avila, who had weapons in their possession as they transported migrants from the border to cities deeper into the country.
“And that also increases the risk to everyone, to law enforcement who are interacting with people during stops, to the humans, the people who are being smuggled, themselves,” Wang said. “And also, you know, there are additional legal consequences for all those things – for failing to yield, for having firearms – and makes it a more serious offense.”
Accidents across the border
High-speed chases and accidents that result from them happen along the entire southwestern U.S. border.
Last June, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced the creation of Joint Task Force Alpha, an initiative that brings investigators and prosecutors from the USA, Mexico and Central America to help tackle transnational smuggling organizations.
The task force increased cooperation and coordination among the four U.S. districts along the U.S.-Mexican border: the Southern District of California, the District of Arizona and the Western and the Southern Districts of Texas.
The operation targets middle- and upper-level members of the smuggling networks.
"Though challenges and much work remain, this joint law enforcement effort with our partners across the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security has already generated results: numerous arrests, indictments, convictions, substantial prison sentences, and significant asset forfeitures," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite said in a written statement. "JTFA’s efforts have also resulted in stronger partnerships with our foreign law enforcement counterparts in the region with whom we must work together to tackle this problem."
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Snapchat users most vulnerable to smugglers
Snapchat appeared in numerous court records as the social media app used most frequently to recruit drivers.
Snapchat said its app has built-in features to prevent strangers from engaging with users and to confidentially report content that violates its terms of service.
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our community and we explicitly prohibit using Snapchat for any illegal activity. We encourage people to immediately report illegal content and activity to law enforcement, as well as to us using our in-app reporting tools,” the company said in a statement.
“Our global safety teams also work around the clock to quickly investigate any reports and take appropriate action. We will continue to work in close collaboration with law enforcement and support investigations to help prevent abuse on our platform,” the statement said.
The company said it has a Law Enforcement Operations team to handle requests from agencies for data pertaining to their investigations and to turn over account records in accordance with privacy laws.
Snapchat said it plans to hold an annual summit focused on educating and strengthening collaborations with law enforcement agencies.
Smuggler promises are 'very different from reality'
The Mexican government tries to dissuade people from making the journey and becoming victims.
“The idea many migrants have about the journey can be very different from reality,” said Lilian Cordoba, who oversees protective services for Mexican citizens at the consulate in Phoenix.
Many times, smugglers will tell them that they will have to walk only a matter of hours, not days, or that a car will immediately pick them up after they make it across the border.
“What they don’t say is that temperatures are too high and that there’s not enough water for that type of environment or that the cars that pick them up are in poor condition or that the drivers are young and inexperienced,” Cordoba said.
When Avila rolled over on April 21, the Mexican consulate notified the families of the three migrants killed in the crash and helped repatriate their bodies to Mexico. That’s a service most consular officials in Arizona offer for their citizens.
Cordoba said there's been an increase in calls and requests to help migrants involved in accidents tied to smuggling. Even if the crashes happen elsewhere in Arizona, the most severe cases end up in Phoenix-area hospitals, she said.
In addition to the three migrants killed April 21, at least four migrants, including a 14-year-old girl, were hospitalized with serious injuries.
Prosecutors obtained their testimony and plan to use it in court to convict Avila on the smuggling and manslaughter charges he faces.
Follow Rafael Carranza and Clara Migoya on Twitter: @RafaelCarranza and @ClaraMigoya.