Southern Arizona human smuggler sentenced for transporting and harboring over 100 people following ICE HSI investigation

TUCSON, Ariz. – A local area woman was sentenced Tuesday to 21 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for her role in human smuggling following an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – Nogales investigation with assistance from United States Border Patrol.

Amalia Gonzalez-Lara, 43, of Oaxaca, Mexico, pleaded guilty on Nov. 18, 2021, to one count of conspiring to transport and harbor over 100 illegal aliens for profit. Gonzalez-Lara managed, supervised, and coordinated smuggling operations for a stash house located in Avondale, Arizona.

On Jan. 12, 2021, law enforcement agents located 20 noncitizens, all nationals of Mexico or Guatemala, inside the residence. Over the course of the conspiracy, the house was used to conceal large numbers of noncitizens who had been smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border into Arizona and transported to the Phoenix area.

Co-conspirator Sergio Vazquez-Flores, 46, who operated the stash house on behalf of Gonzalez-Lara, will be sentenced on March 15.

The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is part of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The Task Force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime. JTFA consists of federal prosecutors and attorneys from U.S. Attorney’s Offices along the Southwest Border (District of Arizona, Southern District of California, Southern District of Texas, and Western District of Texas), from the Criminal Division and the Civil Rights Division, along with law enforcement agents and analysts from DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration are also part of the Task Force.

HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

For up to date information related to human smuggling in Arizona, follow HSI on twitter @HSIPhoenix.