HSI Douglas, multiagency case results conviction for human-smuggling foot guide after death of migrant in his care

DOUGLAS, Ariz. — On Nov. 28, a federal jury in Tucson convicted a Mexican national of multiple human smuggling offenses and found that he placed human life in jeopardy during and in relation to his offenses. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case with assistance from the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division out of Fort Huachuca, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, HSI Nashville and the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Jesus Ernesto Dessens-Romero, 27, of Agua Prieta, Mexico, is facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of his smuggling convictions and at least five years for bringing undocumented migrants into the country for profit. His sentencing date is set for Feb. 22, 2024.

Evidence presented at trial established that Dessens-Romero was the human smuggling foot guide for five Mexican nationals who illegally crossed into the United States on or about Feb. 13, 2021. The group included three sisters — ages 23, 20 and 17 — and their family friend, age 16. Dessens-Romero led the individuals under his care into the rugged and remote Huachuca Mountains near Fort Huachuca in Southern Arizona. He led them on a perilous route to evade law enforcement officials. They had limited food and water, and at night, suffered through serious weather conditions including cold and snow.

By Feb.15, 2021, the 23-year-old sister was in significant physical distress. She was unable to eat, walk or follow simple commands. Dessens-Romero told the group that they were close enough to a traveled roadway where the sick woman could be found if the group left her. Dessens-Romero did not call emergency services. Instead, he located cell phone reception at higher ground to call a transnational criminal smuggling organization. Dessens-Romero then led the rest of the group to Sierra Vista, where they were picked up by unidentified co-conspirators and transported farther into the United States.

The family of the woman left behind contacted authorities on Feb. 16, 2021, to report a missing person. Despite extensive search efforts by U.S. Border Patrol, military officials from Fort Huachuca, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department and HSI, she was not located. In the months following, HSI Douglas agents conducted multiple joint searches for the missing woman with SOS Busqueda y Rescate, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding missing migrants. On Nov. 20, 2021, members of SOS Busqueda y Rescate located skeletal remains in an isolated area of the Huachuca Mountains on Fort Huachuca property. Dental records confirmed that the remains belonged to the missing 23-year-old.

At trial, additional evidence confirmed that Dessens-Romero continued to smuggle undocumented noncitizens within the United States until June 2021. This evidence included WhatsApp messages setting up the transportation of migrants to various locations within the United States, including the transportation of two through Tennessee. Dessens-Romero was arrested on June 30, 2021, by officers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol while transporting these two individuals.

This prosecution resulted from the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is part of JTFA, which was established by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in June 2021 to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. The Task Force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Tucson prosecuted this case.

HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.