A Mexican national involved in a human smuggling operation along the northern U.S. border has been sentenced to 15 months in prison. Jesus Ortiz-Plata, 46, from Independence, Oregon, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle for his role as a transporter in the smuggling conspiracy. He was arrested on May 23, 2024, in Everett, Washington, with three non-citizens who had entered the United States from Canada.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge James L. Robart criticized Ortiz-Plata's actions: “He was a commercial smuggler. He wasn’t doing this for altruistic purposes; he did it for cold hard cash.”
U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman commented on the case: “This defendant was a cog in a conspiracy that transported people into the U.S. from across the northern border in an extremely dangerous smuggling scheme loading people into freight cars on trains traveling from Canada into the U.S.” She added that transnational smuggling groups charge large sums and endanger lives and affirmed continued efforts to hold these groups accountable.
The investigation began after Border Patrol and other agencies noticed repeated illegal border crossings since late 2022. A phone number linked to Ortiz-Plata emerged during their inquiries. After obtaining court permission to track him, law enforcement monitored Ortiz-Plata’s movements leading to his arrest when he traveled from Oregon to Everett.
Ortiz-Plata pleaded guilty on November 20, 2024, to conspiracy charges related to transporting aliens for profit. Prosecutors emphasized that although he did not lead the operation, he played a crucial role by facilitating dangerous crossings multiple times over at least a year.
Following his prison term, Ortiz-Plata is expected to be deported.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations and various Border Patrol units and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Celia Lee and Katherine Collins.