Smuggler coordinator sentenced to 46 months

TUCSON, Ariz. - Ivan Mauricio Hernandez-Mosqueda, of Guanajuato, Mexico, was recently sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona to 46 months of incarceration and 3 years of supervised release for smuggling aliens into the United States.

Hernandez-Mosqueda was actively operating in the Tucson Sector area during the 2024 migrant surge along the U.S.-Mexico border. He coordinated for over 100 Mexican nationals to illegally cross the border, often instructing them to claim asylum under false pretenses.

Ivan Mauricio Hernandez-Mosqueda.

At trial, Hernandez-Mosqueda pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Encourage and Induce an Alien to Unlawfully Enter the US, a class C felony.

The months-long investigation leading to Hernandez-Mosqueda's arrest was the result of collaboration between the Assistant U.S. Attorney's office, Homeland Security Investigations, and Tucson Sector Border Patrol. Due to this whole of government approach, a criminal can no longer exploit vulnerable people for personal gain.

Follow the Chief of Tucson Sector on the social media platform X at @USBPChiefTCA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection at @CBPArizona for breaking news, current events, human interest stories and photos.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.