PHOENIX — Concerns over human trafficking grow in Arizona after federal authorities arrested three people for allegedly helping to transport and house undocumented residents in the Valley.
Jesus Gabriel Villela-Duran, 28, and Eleazar Soto-Diaz, 34, are accused of running a residence in Phoenix that was housing dozens of undocumented individuals, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona.
The two were arrested last week after federal agents executed search warrants at a house and an apartment in the Sundowner complex located near 23rd and Campbell avenues in Phoenix. Agents allegedly found 79 undocumented non-citizens from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras at the residence.
Seven more undocumented individuals were located inside a nearby vehicle driven by 36-year-old Salvador Lopez-Vargas, who was also arrested.
Hillary Walsh with the New Frontier Immigration Law firm said the problem is getting worse daily.
“We have smart traffickers who are here in the U.S. who know how to move people from house to house, and it’s a moving target for law enforcement," Walsh said.
Walsh said Border Patrol agents are tasked with multiple jobs in addition to patrolling the border, making it easier for the trade of human smuggling to continue.
She believes the problem can be fixed through permanent legislation and the economy.
“Speeding up the process in which we accept and approve or deny work authorization applications," she said. "Why is it taking up to a year and a half to two years?”
For many migrants rescued from deplorable conditions, there is a light at the end of the tunnel that doesn’t always end with migrants returning to their home country.
“If someone is apprehended at a stash house, they’re going to be taken into ICE custody to seek asylum and protection from being deported to their home country,” she said.
Prosecutors said the three suspects are facing charges of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, or both.
The arrests were the result of a joint task force that attempts to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
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