{"id":2601977,"date":"2026-05-13T02:24:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexican-national-jailed-for-smuggling-thousands-of-illegal-aliens-through-mexico-into-u-s\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T02:25:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T06:25:28","slug":"mexican-national-jailed-for-smuggling-thousands-of-illegal-aliens-through-mexico-into-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mexican-national-jailed-for-smuggling-thousands-of-illegal-aliens-through-mexico-into-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican national jailed for smuggling \u2018thousands\u2019 of illegal aliens through Mexico into U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmexican-national-jailed-for-smuggling-thousands-of-illegal-aliens-through-mexico-into-u-s%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2601977&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Mexican national Monica Hernandez-Palma was sentenced to 41 months in prison for her role in an <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >international alien-smuggling organization<\/a>.She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bring an alien into the United States and aiding and abetting for financial gain,helping traffic \u201cthousands\u201d of undocumented people into the U.S. through ports of entry in Mexico between November 2020 and march 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Court documents cited by DOJ say Hernandez-Palma helped run stash houses in Piedras Negras, coordinated transport efforts with other members, and worked with foot guides who led migrants across the U.S.-mexico border by crossing the Rio Grande. DOJ also saeid she coordinated with Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga of san Antonio, who organized the broader transport network, arranged for stash houses, and paid \u201carmed coyotes\u201d to carry out the operation.Mejia-Zuniga admitted the group smuggled 2,500 to 3,000 people over two years and charged roughly $6,500 to $12,000 per person, generating tens of millions of dollars; he later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2025.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>The Justice Department <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/mexican-national-sentenced-prison-vast-alien-smuggling-conspiracy\">announced<\/a> that a Mexican national woman was sentenced to prison for participating in an international human smuggling entity. Her efforts contributed to the smuggling of \u201cthousands\u201d of illegal aliens into the United States through Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Monica Hernandez-Palma pleaded guilty to \u201cconspiracy to bring an alien to the United States and aiding and abetting bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain,\u201d the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/justice-department\/\">Justice Department<\/a> revealed in a press release. She was part of an alien smuggling organization that trafficked illegal aliens into the U.S. through ports of entry in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mexico\/\">Mexico<\/a> between November 2020 and March 2023. She was sentenced to 41 months in prison for her crimes. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4565249\/bradley-prize-award-conservative-leaders\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>$300,000 Bradley Prize awarded to three \u2018extraordinary\u2019 conservative leaders<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4565014\/wasserman-schultz-weighs-district-20-bid-as-cherfilus-mccormick-vows-to-fight-for-reelection\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Wasserman Schultz Weighs District 20 Bid as Cherfilus-McCormick Vows to Fight for Reelection<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4565014\/wasserman-schultz-district-20-and-cherfilus-mccormick-election\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Wasserman Schultz weighs District 20 bid as Cherfilus-McCormick vows to fight for reelection<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>\u201cAlien Smuggling Organizations do not care about your hopes and dreams; they care only about your money,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/mexican-national-sentenced-prison-vast-alien-smuggling-conspiracy\">said<\/a> Justin R. Simmons, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, at the time. \u201cThis sentencing represents a major blow to a complex criminal organization that has been successfully dismantled thanks to the work of our AUSAs and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-nazi-guard-living-in-tennessee-deported-to-germany\/\" title=\"Former Nazi Guard Living In Tennessee Deported To Germany\">law enforcement partners<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The smuggled illegal aliens were from countries in Central America, South America, and Asia, including Afghanistan, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Pakistan, and Yemen, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/el-chapos-wife-sentenced-to-prison\/\" title=\"El Chapo\u2019s Wife ... To Prison\">court documents cited<\/a> by the Justice Department. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ASO operated stash houses in Monterrey, Mexico, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. Hernandez-Palma operated the stash house in Piedras Negras and coordinated with other members of the ASO to transport aliens to the stash house and then into the U.S. illegally,\u201d read the release. \u201cHernandez-Palma worked with others to house aliens, after which the aliens would meet foot guides who led them across the U.S.-Mexico border by crossing the Rio Grande River.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hernandez-Palma collaborated with another smuggler, Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga of San Antonio, Texas, who arranged the transport of the illegal aliens into the U.S., <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/mexican-national-sentenced-prison-vast-alien-smuggling-conspiracy\">said<\/a> the DOJ. Mejia-Zuniga organized the transport system, arranging for stash houses to hold the illegal aliens in locations such as Monterrey, Mexico, and Piedras Negras, Mexico, and paid \u201carmed coyotes\u201d to carry out the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meta-will-allow-solicitation-of-human-smuggling-on-its-platforms\/\" title=\"Meta Will Allow Solicitation of Human ... on Its Platforms\">human smuggling operations<\/a>, according to the Justice Department. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/4563767\/tech-executives-china-trump-xi-visit\/\">WHO ARE THE TECH EXECUTIVES FLYING TO CHINA WITH TRUMP FOR STATE VISIT<\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMejia-Zuniga admitted that the ASO smuggled between 2,500 to 3,000 aliens into the United States in just two years,\u201d said the Justice Department. \u201cMejia-Zuniga stated that the organization charged between $6,500 to $12,000 per alien, totaling approximately $16 to $30 million in financial gain for the ASO.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mejia-Zuniga <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/illegal-alien-honduras-sentenced-prison-vast-alien-smuggling-conspiracy\">pleaded<\/a> guilty to \u201cthree counts of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain and aiding and abetting.\u201d He was sentenced to ten years in prison in July 2025. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn an effort to satisfy his greed, Mejia-Zuniga facilitated the illegal movement of thousands of Middle Easterners into the United States,\u201d <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/illegal-alien-honduras-sentenced-prison-vast-alien-smuggling-conspiracy\">said<\/a> Simmons at the time. \u201cHis actions put our national security at risk. However, thanks to our many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-confirms-laundrie-notebook-admits-guilt-will-close-gabby-petito-investigation\/\" title=\"FBI Confirms Laundrie Notebook Admits Guilt, Will Close Gabby Petito Investigation\">federal law enforcement partners<\/a>, Mejia-Zuniga will no longer be allowed to enrich himself to the detriment of this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The DOJ sentenced Monica Hernandez-Palma for human smuggling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2677,"featured_media":2601978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP24326742278412.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33010,46194,3813,5370,79577],"class_list":["post-2601977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-criminal-justice","tag-human-smuggling","tag-immigration","tag-mexico","tag-u-s-mexico-border"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP24326742278412.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601977","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2601977"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601977\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2601981,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2601977\/revisions\/2601981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2601978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2601977"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2601977"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2601977"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}