Illegal-Alien Smugglers Caught in N. Dakota

Latino immigrants admit paying thousands of dollars for unlawful entry

January 15, 2004
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

Federal authorities say two suspected smugglers and nearly a dozen illegal aliens have been taken into custody following an attempt to enter the U.S. through North Dakota.

The Grand Forks Herald reports Carlos Rivera-Erazo was arrested at the Greyhound bus station in Grand Forks with three aliens, while another, Oscar Bonilla-Montero, was nabbed while attempting to pick up eight aliens near the border at Walhalla, N.D.

U.S. Attorney Nick Chase says a tip from Canadian authorities led to the arrest of Bonilla-Montero, a native Costa Rican who became a legal citizen of Canada.

Officials learned he would be dropping off aliens on the Canada side, after which he would drive across the border legally and pick them up once inside the U.S.

Bonilla-Montero was arrested alone by U.S. Border Patrol after entering North Dakota. KYFR-TV in Bismarck reports the eight illegal aliens he was looking to retrieve were found huddling together for warmth carrying walkie-talkies.

Two of the illegals were reportedly from the Dominican Republic and the other six from Costa Rica. The Herald says when debriefed, the aliens admitted they paid the suspect up to $3,000 to be smuggled into America.

Meanwhile, Rivera-Erazo, a citizen of El Salvador, was taken into custody after a Border Patrol agent saw him talking with Xinia Elizabeth Chinchilla-Ruiz of Costa Rica and her two children at the bus station.

According to the arrest affidavit, Rivera-Erazo claimed to be a legal resident, but Chinchilla-Ruiz admitted she and her children didn't have valid documents. She then admitted to paying the alleged smuggler $4,500 to get her from Windsor, Ont., near Detroit to Newark, N.J., where she has relatives.

Her kids have been released to relatives who are legal U.S. residents.

Federal officials say the illegals would be detained for several weeks to be witnesses against the accused smugglers, but would later be deported out of the country.

The suspects face a minimum of three years prison if convicted.

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