Southern Arizona man sentenced for operating human smuggling drop house

TUCSON, Ariz. – A southern Arizona man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for operating a human smuggling house, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Henry Joe Kane, 52, of Tumacacori, was sentenced Tuesday and will be subject to three years of supervised release following the completion of his prison term. Kane pleaded guilty March 8 to conspiring to harbor unauthorized individuals for profit, a felony.

In the summer and fall of 2015, federal agents arrested multiple drivers at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 19 near Amado who were smuggling migrants in their vehicles. Agents were able to trace the smuggled individuals to Kane’s residence in Tumacacori.

On Dec. 3, 2015, federal agents executed a search warrant at Kane’s home and found the defendant along with six foreign nationals, including an unaccompanied minor, who were waiting to be smuggled north. The migrants were kept in what a federal judge characterized as “deplorable conditions,” with animal droppings and trash strewn throughout the residence. Kane was being paid by human smugglers to house people in his home.

The prosecution was handled by Brian R. Decker, Assistant U.S. Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.