Jordanian national Moayad Heider Mohammad Aldairi pleaded guilty Tuesday to participating in an illegal scheme to smuggling people from Yemen, through Mexico and to the United States.
"According to the plea agreement, during the second half of 2017, Aldairi conspired with others to smuggle at least six Yemeni nationals across the Texas border and into the United States in exchange for a fee. Aldairi admitted his role in transporting the aliens from Monterrey, Mexico to Piedras Negras where he directed them to cross the Rio Grande River into the United States," the Department of Justice released in a statement. "Aldairi provided construction hard hats and reflective vests to some of the aliens in an effort to enable them to blend in after crossing. Aldairi will be sentenced by the Honorable Alia Moses at a later date."
A number of different government agencies, including Border Patrol and the FBI, worked with the U.S. Embassy in Jordan on the case.
“When Mohammad Aldairi illegally smuggled multiple Yemeni aliens across our southwest border, he put the security of the United States in peril,” Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski said about the plea. “The Department of Justice cannot — and will not — tolerate such threats to our national security. The Criminal Division remains dedicated to prosecuting alien smugglers, especially criminals like Aldairi who attempt to sneak aliens from countries of interest into the United States.”
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“Border security is national security. We simply cannot have an immigration system that allows people from all over the world to enter this country without detection,” U.S. Attorney Bash added. “We must know the identity of every person setting foot on U.S. soil, however they enter.”
Yemen, which is currently engaged in a civil war and facing horrific famine, is also a hot bed for Islamic terrorism.
Meanwhile, another caravan is headed north to the United States from Central America. Individuals from countries across the world are embedded within it and plan to claim asylum when the reach the U.S. border with Mexico.
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