Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 27, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced today to five years in prison for his role in an international human smuggling conspiracy that illegally brought aliens from Mexico and Central and South America across the northern border with Canada into the United States.
“Mr. Sanchez-Solis profited off of a scheme that undermined the security of our northern border and placed law enforcement officers and aliens in harm’s way when fleeing law enforcement,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Thanks to Operation Take Back America and the Justice Department’s commitment to enforcing the rule of law, yet another human smuggler has been held accountable for endangering human life.”
“HSI remains relentless in our pursuit to dismantle criminal networks that profit from human smuggling along the northern border,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony J. Patrone of HSI Buffalo. “These organizations exploit vulnerable individuals, endanger lives, and threaten the safety of our communities. Working closely with U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, HSI Rouses Point is committed to disrupting illegal entry and transnational criminal activity throughout Northern New York.”
According to court documents, Sanchez-Solis was a leader of an alien smuggling organization (ASO) that operated between December 2022 and April 2025 and smuggled hundreds of aliens from Mexico and Central and South America into the United States. Once the aliens were inside the United States, the ASO employed drivers to pick them up and drive them further into the country. The defendant personally participated in and coordinated smuggling events with other leaders of the ASO. During one smuggling event in May 2023, a van carrying aliens became involved in a vehicle chase with U.S. Border Patrol. Border Patrol had to stop their pursuit due to risk to the public, and law enforcement had to use a tire deflation device to stop the vehicle after it failed to yield. The smuggled aliens paid the ASO thousands of dollars to be smuggled into the United States, and some then worked for the ASO smuggling other aliens to pay off their own smuggling debts.
Sanchez-Solis pleaded guilty on May 7 to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain. Three other illegal aliens from Mexico were charged for their roles in the conspiracy. Ignacio Diaz-Perez, 37, and Samuel Diaz-Perez, 27, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and six counts of aliens smuggling for financial gain. Salvador Diaz-Diaz, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of aliens smuggling for financial gain. They are expected to be sentenced on Nov. 23.
HSI Rouses Point and U.S. Border Patrol Burke Station investigated the case, with substantial assistance from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force.
Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carling Dunham for the Northern District of New York is prosecuting the case.
This case was supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the U.S. Department of Justice’s lead effort in combating human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations throughout the Americas. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking networks that impact public safety and border security. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by other Criminal Division components, JTFA has dedicated prosecutors from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the Southwest border, Southern Florida, Northern New York, and Vermont. JTFA partners with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS components, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Office of Field Operations. JTFA also partners with FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 486 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and trafficking; more than 486 U.S. convictions; and more than 374 significant jail sentences imposed and forfeitures of substantial assets.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and other transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood.