Human smuggling – especially in border states like Texas – has become a serious legal and humanitarian concern. While the charges sound alike, human smuggling is distinct from human trafficking, and understanding the differences and the related issues is critical.
If you’ve been charged with human smuggling, your rights and your freedom are on the line, and you shouldn’t wait to consult with an experienced Round Rock criminal defense attorney.
Human Smuggling Defined
Human smuggling – or smuggling of persons – in Texas refers to the intentional movement or transportation of a person or people across a border that includes one point in Texas without governmental authorization to do so. Often, those being smuggled consent to the act, and the intention on the part of those doing the smuggling is monetary gain.
The subjects of human smuggling can include all the following:
Undocumented immigrants
Aliens who don’t have legal status in the United States
Citizens of the United States who are smuggled for illegal purposes
Smuggling can also apply in relation to encouraging or enticing someone else to illegally enter the country, which is in violation of federal laws if the perpetrator’s intention is concealing, shielding, or harboring the person from detection.
Human smuggling is against the law at both the state and federal level, and the severity of the charge can quickly escalate in response to aggravating factors that include the following:
Smuggling operations that put the lives of those being smuggled at risk
Smuggling operations that cause someone who is being smuggled to suffer bodily harm
Smuggling operations that involve minors
If the charge isn’t your first, you can also face harsher sentencing.
The Difference between Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking
While the terms human smuggling and human trafficking tend to be used interchangeably, they are different charges that each require specific elements.
The primary difference between the two charges is that – as mentioned – human smuggling involves the illegal transportation of people who consent to illegal movement across the border, which is conducted for the smugglers’ financial gain.
For example, if someone who wants to enter the United States illegally pays a smuggler to get them across the Texas border, the person or people doing the transporting can face human smuggling charges.
Human trafficking, on the other hand, refers to modern-day slavery, and the State of Texas identifies four major types that include each of the following:
Adult sex trafficking, which refers to the trafficking of adults for commercial sex that is either forced or coerced or that is committed via fraud
Adult labor trafficking, which refers to the trafficking of adults for labor that is either forced or coerced or that is committed via fraud
Child sex trafficking, which refers to the trafficking by any means of those who are under the age of 18 for commercial sex
Child labor trafficking, which refers to the trafficking of those who are under the age of 18 for labor that is either forced or coerced or that is committed via fraud
Each of these falls under one statute in Texas, and the law can be used to prosecute anyone who engages in recruiting, harboring, transporting, enticing, or providing another person for forced labor or sexual exploitation.
It’s important to note that while transportation is a primary element of human smuggling, it’s not a requirement when it comes to the charge of human trafficking.
The Legal Elements of Human Smuggling
There are two primary scenarios in which the charge of human smuggling applies.
Transporting
It is a form of human smuggling to use any means of conveyance, such as a vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft to transport one or more people with the intention of achieving either of the following:
Concealing the person or people from the police or from a special investigator
Fleeing from someone who the accused knows is a police officer or a special investigator who is attempting to lawfully arrest or detain them
Encouraging
Another form of human smuggling is encouraging or enticing someone else to illegally enter or remain in the United States – by means of concealing, shielding, or harboring them from detection – when doing so is in violation of federal law.
Ultimately, you could face a human smuggling charge if you are alleged to have transported, fled with, or concealed another person or other people in violation of federal immigration laws – or if you are alleged to have induced another person or people to violate federal immigration laws through transport, concealment, or flight.
Human smuggling charges carry heavy penalties—consult with a Round Rock criminal defense attorney to fight for your future.
The Charge of Human Smuggling
Human smuggling is a serious offense, and a conviction can lead to very serious consequences. The gravity of the charge, however, is based on the unique circumstances that make up each case, including factors like the following:
The number of people who were trafficked
The intent of the accused
Whether a vehicle was involved
Whether those being smuggled were concealed
Whether the smuggling involved fraudulent documentation
The basics for smuggling charges in Texas break down as follows:
If the charge involves no minors and if no one was seriously harmed, the charge is likely to be a state jail felony, which carries from 6 months to 2 years in a state jail facility and fines of up to $10,000.
If the charge involved a minor or there was a significant risk of causing harm, the charge is likely to be a third-degree felony, which carries a prison sentence of from 2 to 10 years and fines of up to $10,000.
If the charge involved trafficking multiple people or someone suffered serious bodily injury, the charge is a second-degree felony, which carries a prison sentence of from 2 to 20 years and fines of up to $10,000.
If the charge involved reckless disregard for human life or led to death, it’s a first-degree felony, which carries a prison sentence of from 5 to 99 years and fines of up to $10,000.
Additional consequences can include each of the following:
Deportation – if the defendant isn’t a citizen
A loss of civil rights
The loss of one’s commercial driver’s license – if the defendant is a truck driver
Serious social consequences that include the stigma associated with being a felon
Don’t face these serious charges alone. Consult with a savvy Round Rock criminal defense attorney to build your defense.
Scenarios that Qualify as Human Smuggling
There are several primary examples of human smuggling that are often seen in the State of Texas.
Transporting Undocumented Immigrants for a Fee
Transportation for profit is a primary example of human smuggling. When someone charges undocumented immigrants a fee in order to unlawfully transport them across the U.S./Mexico border into Texas and uses a vehicle to move them through remote areas as a means of avoiding detection by border patrol agents, it is a form of human smuggling.
Harboring and Concealing Undocumented Immigrants for a Fee
Harboring undocumented immigrants and concealing them from the authorities for a fee is another common form of human smuggling. This often involves the accused providing undocumented immigrants with a hidden location – such as a secluded warehouse or even a basement – for the purpose of allowing them to avoid detection by immigration authorities.
This can also include providing undocumented immigrants with fraudulent documentation and assisting them in moving to various locations within the United States. All of this involves the incentive of a profit for the person doing the smuggling.
Providing Fraudulent Documents to Gain Illegal Entry
Another scenario that qualifies as human smuggling is providing an illegal immigrant with fraudulent travel documents or identification in order to gain illegal entry into the country. Additional examples in this category include guiding undocumented immigrants through airport security and customs in order to gain illegal entry into the United States without detection by those in law enforcement.
Smuggling via the Trucking Industry
In Texas, human smuggling is sometimes associated with the trucking industry. When a trucker transports an undocumented immigrant across the Mexico/Texas border by hiding them in the cargo area of their rig, it’s a form of human smuggling. When the smuggling is orchestrated by other parties, the truck drivers may not be aware of their involvement in human smuggling.
Preparing a Legal Defense
If you’ve been charged with human smuggling, you need the focused legal counsel of a trusted Round Rock criminal defense attorney on your side. While your defense will be specifically designed to address the unique circumstances of your case, many defense strategies fall into basic categories.
You Were Acting under Duress or Coercion
If someone else used violence, threats, or any form of coercion in order to force your participation in human smuggling, it could support a valid defense. Coercion can include threats against you or your family. If you can demonstrate that your compliance was your only reasonable option and that your free will was circumvented, it can serve your case well.
You Didn’t Have the Necessary Intent
To convict you of human smuggling, the prosecution will need to prove that you were a knowing participant in the illegal act of human smuggling. If you weren’t aware of the undocumented individuals’ legal status or if you had no intention of violating any immigration laws, it can serve as a strong defense.
For example, if you did what you did because you were misled by a third party, it can seriously weaken the state’s case against you.
They Have the Wrong Person
Sometimes, the state simply gets the wrong person, and this is often a function of mistaken identity. The truth is that eyewitness identification is far less accurate than was once believed, and unreliable eyewitnesses are often the driving force behind mistaken identity cases.
Further, if you have a solid alibi that proves you couldn’t have been where the charge claims you were at the time you are claimed to have been there, it could make the charge go away entirely.
You Were Entrapped
When law enforcement officials encourage or induce someone to commit a crime, such as human smuggling, that they otherwise never would have, it can support an entrapment defense. For an entrapment defense to apply, you must demonstrate that government agents hatched the illegal idea on their own and that you weren’t predisposed to engage in human smuggling.
The State Lacks the Evidence Necessary to Convict You
In order to convict you of human smuggling, the prosecution needs enough convincing evidence to prove that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a high bar that very generally means there is no other reasonable explanation. Without adequate evidence – that the jury finds convincing – the state will have a very difficult time convicting you.
Your Constitutional Rights Were Violated
The police and the prosecution are required to uphold your constitutional rights throughout the criminal justice process, and if they fail to do so, it can negatively impact the case they have against you. These rights include:
Informing you of your right to remain silent and to have an attorney present at the point that you are detained or are under arrest
Following the rules of lawful search and seizure when gathering evidence in the case they build against you, which includes having probable cause for arresting you in the first place and for obtaining the search warrants required to search your home or vehicle
Refraining from the use of coercion when interrogating you
Turn to a determined criminal defense attorney for the help you need.
Speak to an Experienced Round Rock Criminal Defense Attorney Today
Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a persuasive Round Rock criminal defense attorney with a long and impressive history of successfully defending those facing human smuggling charges, and he’s also here for you.
Our accomplished legal team is standing by to help, so please don’t put off contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 to schedule a free consultation and learn more about what we can do to help you today.