BREAKING: Mexican national sentenced to prison in Seattle over human smuggling scheme using freight trains to transport illegal immigrants across US-Canada border

Ortiz-Plata had been living in Independence, Oregon, and was working on a farm at the time of his arrest on May 23, 2024. He will likely be deported from the United States back to Mexico, where he was born, upon the completion of his prison sentence. US District Court Judge James Robart expressed little sympathy for the defendant during sentencing, stating that Ortiz-Plata's "extensive career" as a human smuggler demonstrated a "callous" disdain for human life, which may have resulted in grave bodily injury or death.

In July 2023, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Border Patrol (USBP) began investigating a human smuggling organization that was suspected of smuggling noncitizens into the United States through the US-Canada border, with the route running from Vancouver, BC, to Whatcom County, Washington. The noncitizens were smuggled via freight trains. Ortiz-Plata's role in the illicit operation was to transport migrants after they unlawfully entered the US. He used the moniker "Chuy" to communicate with the illegal migrants before and after their arrival, and charged up to $8,000 to transport each individual, according to court documents.

Ortiz-Plata came under investigation in September 2022 after Border Patrol agents at Sumas Station in the Blaine Sector apprehended noncitizens unlawfully crossing the border. Investigators discovered the moniker "Chuy" and an associated telephone number on the phones of the detained noncitizens. Upon a thorough investigation, authorities identified "Chuy" as defendant Jesus Ortiz-Plata, per court documents.

On November 26, 2022, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Sumas Station arrested five Mexican nationals unlawfully entering the United States. During a post-arrest interview, one of the Mexican nationals identified "Chuy" as the person he was slated to meet for transport.

On August 31, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers assigned to the rail facility in Blaine, Washington, "observed x-ray abnormalities inside a rail car containing bulk plastic pellets. After searching the rail car, CBP found 29 noncitizens attempting to hide within the car. Of the 29 noncitizens, 28 were determined to be Mexican nationals, one was a Colombian national who was identified as the guide for the group," court documents state. Authorities conducted interviews with the Mexican nationals and several stated they had made arrangements with "Chuy." At least one of them provided agents with Chuy's telephone number.

Investigators placed Ortiz-Plata under electronic surveillance after noticing a trend involving the defendant "driving from Oregon to the Seattle-Everett area" where authorities would later discover the destination was a stash house.

On November 10, 2023, CBP officers intercepted another train and located 13 Mexican nationals, many of which attempted to jump off the train after it was ordered to stop. Immigration authorities conducted interviews with the noncitizens, and three of them stated they had been in contact with "Chuy" and gave his phone number to investigators. Two of these noncitizens said they agreed to pay "Chuy" $8,000 upon successful transportation to Oregon, according to court documents.

Ortiz-Plata was arrested on May 23, 2024, after investigators tracked his vehicle to a stash house at an apartment complex located in Everett, Washington. Court documents state that Ortiz-Plata parked at an apartment complex, exited his vehicle, and walked into the building. He later emerged from the apartment along with three noncitizens who were unlawfully present in the United States. "After the four men entered Ortiz-Plata's vehicle, with Ortiz-Plata as the driver, agents immediately detained them for suspected human smuggling" and placed the defendant under arrest for "suspicion of alien smuggling," according to the indictment.

"This organization took lethal risks with noncitizen's lives, putting the migrants in horrendous situations that could have easily resulted in death," the United States District Attorney for the Western District of Washington wrote in a sentencing memo. "Ortiz-Plata admits that he knew the noncitizens he picked up were using freight trains to get into the United States; but nevertheless, he proceeded to participate. Even if he, himself, was not the one directing the noncitizens to jump on, Ortiz-Plata continued to facilitate, and thereby promote, this extremely dangerous smuggling route, multiple times, over the course of at least a year."

Before Judge Robart handed down his sentence, Ortiz-Plata took ownership of his actions and expressed regret, telling the Court, "I'm sorry for the harm I have caused to the security of the country. Since I've been incarcerated, it's been a very difficult time for me. But I realize that one must be punished for the crimes that have been committed. I love this country very much and I realize that I have failed it."

In return, Judge Robart said Ortiz-Plata "had no respect for the law and decided to become a criminal to enrich himself."

Records show that the defendant had no prior criminal history, and no migrants were injured during the illicit human trafficking scheme. His co-conspirator Juan Pablo Cuellar Medina, 36, of Everett, Washington, was taken into custody the same day as Ortiz-Plata. The other co-conspirators operated from Canada, and their cases have been dropped, according to court filings.

Assistant US Attorney Gorman said in a press release announcing the indictments that Ortiz-Plata and Medina had operated "an extremely dangerous smuggling scheme where people are loaded into freight cars or trains...Being locked in a freight train car is dangerous—there is no control over the heat, cold, or ventilation, and people can be injured or killed by shifting freight."

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Border Security Enforcement Team, the US Border Patrol, and Border Patrol Air and Marine Group, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Celia A. Lee and Katherine G. Collins.

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