Van companies accused of immigrant-smuggling

[Twoller]

Originally Posted by Jeanfromfillmore

.... But they would not give any further details about how they built their case or why they believe the companies were knowingly transporting illegal immigrants.

Sergio Rodriguez, owner of Sergio's Shuttle, a Phoenix transportation service accused of working with smugglers, said there has been "a big mistake."
"If somebody gets on my bus, I'm not Border Patrol," he said. "I don't know how to check if he's legal or not."

For many years, illegal immigrants have gotten crucial help from some legitimate-looking businesses that supply cars, lodging, plane tickets and other services.

"To get somebody from south of the border to their ultimate destination, it can't be done with a single guide or a single entity," said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, whose office has prosecuted travel agents and used-car dealers. "It's actually a complex set of interrelationships between subcontractors."

Officials said that they expect smugglers to find other ways to get their customers to Phoenix, and that there are other corrupt van services out there.

But "this is an effort on our part to raise the cost of doing business for them," Allen said. "We want to make it harder for them to run their illegal enterprises."

...

What's missing here? What is missing is observing exactly who these people aiding and abetting are. They are anchor babies and legal immigrants. And what is also missing is what is being done about them. If you are a naturalized citizen and you participate in aiding or abetting illegal immigration, then you should be stripped of your citizenship and deported. Every time. No exceptions.

And in the case of illegals from Mexico and other non-English speaking countries, there is need for all the criminal activity to be conducted in that language.