The US Treasury on Friday announced sanctions on a Mexico-based immigration gang that provides asylum seekers with false documents to facilitate the process.
Known as the Hernandez Salas organization, the gang is based in the border town of Mexicali, across the border from Calexico, California.
Since at least 2018, the gang has organized travel by immigrants from “countries of national security concern,” the Treasury statement said, although it did not specify which countries they targeted. is
However, the department said the terrorist group has transported immigrants to the United States from Russia, Eritrea, Yemen and Iran, among others.
The Treasury said in a statement that the criminal scheme hurts those who really need asylum protection.
“The practice of human trafficking and the facilitation of fraudulent documentation undermines the US asylum system,” the statement said, “undermining public confidence in the vetting process and limiting access to protection for vulnerable people fleeing conflict, famine, and persecution.”
A woman, Ofelia Hernández Salas, runs the gang, with links to the Sinaloa drug cartel. Sanctions also apply to four partners and two hotels used to house migrants. Hernández Salas is under arrest in Mexico and is awaiting extradition to face US charges.
The department said the gang charged immigrants between $10,000 and $70,000 for package deals of travel to Mexico, forged documents and transportation costs to enter the United States.
Sanctions imposed by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) freeze the assets of companies and individuals in the United States. They also ban US citizens and businesses from any transactions with the targeted items.
