A Mexican man has been sentenced to federal prison for his role in a “prolific” human smuggling ring that helped people from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East illegally enter the United States at through Mexico.Raul Saucedo-Huipio of Mexicali, Mexico, received 87 months, or just over seven years, for facilitating the travel of more than 200 migrants to the U.S. between 2018 and 2022, the Justice Department announced Monday evening.Saucedo-Huipio, 51, was extradited from Mexico for the trial and convicted for charging tens of thousands of dollars per person to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the indictment. The Justice Department called the smuggling organization “prolific.”
In his role as a supervisor of the smuggling ring, Saucedo-Huipio led people from all over the world on their travels to Mexico, then over the southern border. He is responsible for leading citizens from and through Bangladesh, Yemen, Pakistan, Eritrea, India, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico into the U.S.
“Human smuggling is not a victimless crime. It is a direct assault on our national security and an exploitation of some of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, A. Tysen Duva. “This criminal organization not only moved aliens across the border; it stole from them and left them in desperate situations.”
