Houston couple sentenced to federal prison for transporting more than 100 illegal aliens

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A Houston couple was sentenced to federal prison Monday for knowingly and intentionally conspiring to transport illegal aliens.

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Kevin Kerr, 32, and Brianna Branch, 30, who pleaded guilty to the charges Aug. 29, were sentenced to 85 months and 70 months respectively. Both will also serve three years of supervised release following the completion of their sentence.

In imposing the sentence, the court determined Kerr and Branch to be leaders of the conspiracy which spanned a three-month period in early 2019. The court noted the dangerous manner in which the aliens were transported.

Kerr and Branch were held accountable for the smuggling of more than 100 aliens, including several minors, past South Texas U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) checkpoints. The couple would recruit drivers from the Houston area to travel to South Texas and place the undocumented aliens in utility trailers.

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

A total of four other members of the conspiracy have also pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy and are pending sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Neel Kapur is prosecuting the case.