The arrest of an Oregon man has highlighted human smuggling across the U.S.-Canada border, particularly in British Columbia. The case which highlights the permanent challenges posed by securing the border in a context of increasing cross-border migration.
According to documents filed last week in Seattle District Court, Jesus Ortiz-Plata signed a deal in which he admitted to helping at least 25 people remain in Washington state illegally in exchange for a sentence of up to up to 18 months’ imprisonment.
Court documents reveal that several smuggling organizations operate in the Greater Vancouver area, charging migrants between US$5,000 and US$10,000 to cross into the United States.
Migrants are often transported on foot or hidden on freight trains leaving British Columbia.
Also read: illegal migration
A “facilitator based in Canada”
Authorities began investigating Jesus Ortiz-Plata after his phone number surfaced in migrant smuggling cases in September 2022.
Following an arrest, two Mexican nationals stated that a facilitator based in Canada
gave them the number, telling them that Chuy
would pick them up after they entered the United States illegally and take them to Oregon.
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An image from surveillance video shows a man identified by US authorities as Jesus Ortiz-Plata. He pleaded guilty to smuggling people across the U.S. border from British Columbia.
Photo: Photo provided by the United States District Court
Chuy
was eventually identified as Jesus Ortiz-Plaza and his name surfaced several times in illegal migration incidents in which dozens of Latin American migrants, mainly from Mexico, were discovered on trains.
“Hide in empty spaces”
Mr. Ortiz-Plata was arrested last May after he got into his vehicle with an associate and three undocumented migrants, two from Honduras and one from India.
All three said they were smuggled into the United States from Vancouver.
One of the Hondurans told agents that he and his brother paid $4,000 each to a smuggler to be transported from Vancouver to Portland.
While still in Canada, an unknown Hispanic man picked him and his brother up from a bus stop and drove them to a train station
the indictment states. The three men were ordered to climb up and hide in the natural void spaces inside the freight train cars.
The third migrant, who spoke Hindi, said he had left India for Toronto two weeks earlier and that someone from his village put him in contact with a person likely to facilitate his illegal entry
.
Canadian-based smugglers and American associates
The documents do not identify specific smugglers based in Canada, but they highlight their collaboration with U.S. associates who arrange transportation and housing for migrants once they cross the border into Washington state.
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An image from surveillance video shows a group of undocumented people arriving at a hotel in Washington state. Officers say they watched as a man accused of migrant smuggling led the group from his vehicle to a room.
Photo: Photo provided by the United States District Court
The U.S. Border Patrol is reporting a sharp increase in the number of apprehensions at the British Columbia-Washington border.
The figure increased from 166 in 2021 to 494 in 2022. This year, by the end of September, this number had already reached 2,551.
According to court documents, Jesus Ortiz-Plata will be sentenced in February.
With information from Jason Proctor
