Pharr resident receives max for smuggling over 100 Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas Dateline: Corpus Chrisi, Texas Date: 12 September 2024 Subjects: American Government , Crime, Trucking

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 21-year-old man has been sentenced for transporting undocumented individuals, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Isaac Jake Gonzalez pleaded guilty March 30, 2023.

U.S. District Judge David S. Morales has now ordered Gonzalez to serve 60 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard evidence that while on bond, Gonzalez continued to smuggle undocumented individuals and allegedly trafficked a 15-year-old girl for sex which resulted in a revocation of his bond. The court also heard Gonzalez was responsible for smuggling unaccompanied minors and that, in some cases, the undocumented people were locked in trailers where the refrigeration was not working.

Beginning in summer 2021, authorities initiated an investigation into an organization responsible for smuggling thousands of undocumented aliens in tractor-trailers. Law enforcement ultimately identified Gonzalez and his brother-in-law, Anthony Williams, as coordinators responsible for recruiting drivers. 

On Dec. 6, 2022, authorities arrested Gonzalez and three other co-conspirators. Law enforcement discovered that members had delivered six undocumented migrants to a warehouse where a tractor-trailer was waiting to smuggle them north.

Through the investigation, Gonzalez was found responsible for smuggling approximately 115 undocumented individuals.

Williams, 27, Pharr, was previously sentenced to 96 months in federal prison.

Gonzalez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol and Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara J. De Peña prosecuted the case.

Updated September 12, 2024