Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the formation of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) in June 2021, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The initiative aims to enhance the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human smuggling and trafficking originating from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico, which impact U.S. border communities. JTFA focuses on individuals and networks that exploit or endanger those being smuggled, pose national security threats, or have ties to transnational organized crime.
Since its inception, JTFA has achieved notable results:
- Over 300 domestic and international arrests.
- More than 240 U.S. convictions.
- Sentencing of over 170 U.S. defendants.
- Significant seizures and forfeitures of assets including cash, real property, vehicles, firearms, ammunition, and drugs.
- Multiple indictments and precedent-setting extraditions of foreign leadership targets.
Over three years, JTFA has enhanced coordination between the Justice Department, DHS, and foreign law enforcement partners. This collaboration has targeted organizations significantly impacting the United States through coordinated investigations, indictments, extraditions, and prosecutions both along the Southwest border and overseas.
Prosecutors from several U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are detailed to JTFA to support its mission. These include offices from the Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of New Mexico, District of Arizona, and Southern District of California. Various components within the Justice Department also contribute personnel and support to JTFA.
The task force benefits from substantial law enforcement investment by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Border Patrol (BP), FBI Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Air Marshals (FAMs), and U.S. Coast Guard.
In December 2023, OCDETF launched a new strategic initiative to further target transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) involved in human smuggling and trafficking.
Key cases under JTFA include:
- **United States v. Felipe Diego Alonzo et al.:** Coordination between U.S. and Guatemalan law enforcement led to the arrest of 19 members of a human smuggling network.
- **United States v. Ofelia Hernandez-Salas et al.:** Indictment for global human smuggling conspiracy; key suspect arrested in Mexico.
- **United States v. Maria Mendoza-Mendoza:** First-ever extradition from Honduras for a prolific human smuggler.
- **United States v. Erminia Serrano Piedra et al.:** Eight indicted for running a human smuggling network; significant forfeitures agreed upon by guilty parties.
- **United States v. Allison et al.:** Eight defendants indicted for human smuggling; four convicted thus far.
- **United States v. Ronaldo Galindo Lopez-Escobar et al.:** Ten indicted in an investigation into a family-run human smuggling organization operating across Guatemala, Mexico, and the U.S.
Other notable operations include "Operation Pollos Hermanos," resulting in multiple convictions related to a transnational human smuggling organization along the U.S.-Mexico border.