A Mexican national has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for her role in what federal prosecutors described as a large-scale international alien smuggling organization that moved thousands of foreign nationals into the United States through Mexico.
According to the Department of Justice, 34-year-old Monica Hernandez-Palma received a 41-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to bring illegal aliens into the United States and aiding and abetting alien smuggling for financial gain.
Federal authorities said the smuggling network operated between November 2020 and March 2023 and transported thousands of migrants from countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Ecuador.
Prosecutors said the organization maintained stash houses in Monterrey and Piedras Negras, Mexico, where migrants were housed before being moved toward the U.S.-Mexico border. Hernandez-Palma was accused of overseeing operations at the Piedras Negras stash house and coordinating transportation logistics with other members of the organization.
According to court records, migrants were eventually guided across the Rio Grande River by foot guides working with the smuggling operation.
Federal officials linked Hernandez-Palma to co-conspirator Enil Edil Mejia-Zuniga, a San Antonio-based smuggler previously sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2025. Authorities said Mejia-Zuniga directed broader operations for the organization and coordinated payments to armed coyotes, drivers, and stash house operators.
Court documents stated the organization smuggled an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 illegal aliens into the United States over a two-year period. Prosecutors said the group charged migrants between $6,500 and $12,000 each, generating an estimated $16 million to $30 million in revenue.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said the case reflects ongoing federal efforts targeting organized human smuggling operations.
“We take seriously organized human smugglers who seek to undermine the integrity and security of our borders and our immigration laws for their ill-gotten gains,” Duva said in a statement released by the Justice Department.
Justin R. Simmons, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, described the sentencing as a significant disruption to a criminal smuggling enterprise operating across international borders.
Federal authorities said Homeland Security Investigations in Del Rio led the U.S. side of the investigation alongside Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force and U.S. Border Patrol. Mexican law enforcement authorities assisted in securing Hernandez-Palma’s arrest and extradition to the United States.
The prosecution was supported through Joint Task Force Alpha, a Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security initiative focused on dismantling human smuggling and trafficking organizations operating throughout the Americas.
According to the Justice Department, Joint Task Force Alpha has contributed to more than 455 arrests tied to smuggling and trafficking operations, along with more than 400 convictions and hundreds of prison sentences.
