Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has charged 14 members of an extensive alien smuggling organization, as well as arrested eight others for their role in smuggling hundreds of illegal

migrants into the United States. The arrests are part of a coordinated effort to dismantle one of the many transnational criminal organizations exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit.

A grand jury in Las Cruces, New Mexico, returned an indictment against the 14 individuals for conspiracy to transport, harbor, and bring illegal aliens into the United States. This indictment underscores the ongoing

efforts by the DOJ, in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, to curb the activities of these criminal networks that not only violate U.S. immigration laws but also put human lives at risk. Read more below