Federal prosecutors announced that a 20-year-old man living in Mexico has pleaded guilty to illegally allowing seven immigrants to enter the United States through a sewer pipe in southern California.
Kevin Noe Campos-Villa faces a possible 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines after his January arrest, during which time several immigrants he was escorting were transported to San Diego, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He had to be rescued from the Tijuana River by lifeguards. For the Southern District of California.
Campos, a Tijuana resident, was taken into custody by Border Patrol agents during heavy rain on January 22, about three miles west of the San Ysidro port of entry, prosecutors said.
“The sewer pipes between the United States and Mexico are equipped with grates to prevent individuals from entering the country illegally. During heavy rains, the grates are opened to allow water to flow into the sewer pipes without damaging the grates. can be done,” the law firm said. “The bars were open due to heavy rains occurring in the area at the time, and Campos used the opportunity to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States.”
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This aerial photo taken in September 2023 shows the U.S.-Mexico border in San Ysidro, California. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images)
“According to court records, two of the rescued illegal immigrants said they risked their lives while crossing the river because they did not know how to swim,” the office added. “One person said that although he was swept away by the current of the river, he was able to hold on to a tree branch until he was rescued.”
Prosecutors said Campos told investigators he agreed to guide a group of migrants in exchange for $6,000, helped build a ladder to cross the U.S.-Mexico border fence and provided services for other smugglers. He reportedly stated that he was working at
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Camp shelters left behind by migrants are seen along the U.S.-Mexico border fence in San Ysidro, California, in 2023. (Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images)
“This is an important reminder that safety is of little importance to transnational criminal organizations,” Chief Patrol Agent Patricia McGuirk-Daniel said in a statement. “U.S. Border Patrol agents will continue to target human smugglers and impose sanctions on those who violate our laws.”
Campos was arrested in January by Border Patrol agents who observed him “directing individuals from Mexico into the United States through a pipe approximately two miles west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry during heavy rain,” the statement said. the prosecutor says. (Getty Images)
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Campos is charged with bringing illegal aliens to a location other than a designated port of entry, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17.
